


Lightning Never Strikes Twice (Except When it Does)

by Itslivibitch



Series: The Misadventures of the Lion and the Lamb [2]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: ... - Freeform, Awesome Darcy Lewis, BAMF Darcy Lewis, But actually I made it worse, But with more knuckle hair, Darcy Lewis Takes the World and Wins, Darcy Lewis is Tony Stark's Daughter, Darcy Lewis-centric, Darcy with powers, Dramedy, F/M, FIx It, Logan is literally such a mother hen, M/M, Mechanical Engineer Darcy Lewis, Mutant!Darcy, Powers!Darcy, Shes a bad bitch and its about to be YOUR problem, The Author Regrets Everything, The Author Regrets Nothing, inHuman!Darcy, powered people, shocker - Freeform, you'll see - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-09
Updated: 2017-03-24
Packaged: 2018-04-03 15:12:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 37,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4105504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Itslivibitch/pseuds/Itslivibitch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Life used to be good for Darcy Lewis. I mean - discount the fact that she was on the run from basically everyone she'd ever met with a man who she was pretty sure she was madly in love with, and it was all roses. The key words in that sentence are 'used to be'. Also maybe 'madly in love'. Honestly, she's not so sure just yet. </p>
<p>OR</p>
<p>The one where Hydra kidnaps Darcy and everything is all messed up, and Bucky gathers an angry mob to help him burn down the world in his search for her. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>  <b>Sequel to Come Home to Me(You Are My Home)</b></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. This is a SEARCH Party Dammit Guys

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to part two friends ! I hope you enjoy ;)

Emotions are such an odd thing - a strange concept. Our brains tell us how something makes us feel, and our bodies respond. Joy can elicit laughter from the very bottom of your gut - anger can make your fists curl in on themselves automatically as if gearing up for the fight of a lifetime. But the worst emotion - the worst emotion is sadness. Devastation. Grief. Because sadness paralyzes you. It can bring a grown man who has seen more than any man has a right to down to his knees. It can make him shake with fear, it can light a rage inside of him that would carry him to his death and help him fight his way through hell.

James Buchanan Barnes was never a man who felt things, he had to be strong, so he was. So the onslaught of feelings he felt when he dropped the phone to the floor was paralyzing. Which was why James Buchanan Barnes had to go away for a while - and the Winter Soldier had to take the reigns.

\------------

The first thing he had to do was find allies, he didn’t like working with a team, but he knew that he couldn’t retrieve his mission alone. He considered his options, and eventually decided that the four men that the mission called ‘Dad’ would be his first stop. They were difficult to track, but not impossible. He found them in the middle of what appeared to be a covert mission in Bahrain. The asset - _No_ , Bucky Barnes - remembered the last time he was here, and the way that the mission - that _Darcy_ \- had protected him from those who sought to harm him. And his resolve, along with that of Barnes’, hardened even more.

“Dammit Carl! I thought I told you to stay in the van!” the large dark man that the Asset passed first yelled in his direction.

“Carl is in the van. He is unconscious,” he assured him before incapacitating him, and killing the men who had been engaged with the Assets target. Dragging his prone body to rest next to ‘Carls’. He set out after the other two.

The next one was easy to take down, his face showed surprise as he turned to face the Asset, and in doing so, lost the seconds it took Bucky to shoot him with the weapon that his mission had favoured. The second man, however, let out a howl of rage at seeing his partner knocked unconscious, and refused to listen to reason.

“You sonova bitch!” he yelled, charging at the asset with a force that he calculated would break three of his ribs if he did not dodge. Stepping neatly to the side, he cocked his head at the other man in confusion at his emotion.

“Your friend lives,” he told him, dodging another bodily attack.

“That’s my _husband_ you psychotic piece of -” he snarled angrily, and the Asset decided that before he enlisted this man to assist in retrieving his mission, he would have to discuss his anger issues with him. He did not need emotion clouding anybodies decisions when it came to such precious cargo.

\------------

Six minutes and Forty Three seconds later - the Asset counted - the first man awoke. From the files Bucky had studied, he knew his name was Jake Lewis, formerly Jake Greene, he was 6’3”,  a member of the prestigious Alpha Team, of African-American decent, and aged 47.

“Where the fuck is Darcy you piece of shit?!” His file also mentioned his affinity for loud and frequent swearing at those who had displeased him. The Asset noted that the mission - Darcy - must have learnt that trait from him. The Asset decided that the most prudent course of action was to await until all members of the party were awake before laying out his plan, so he sat at parade rest and waited for the others.

One minute and Three seconds after that, the second man came to his senses. This was one of the original parents of the - of the _Darcy_ \- and his name was Carl Lewis. He was a caucasian male aged 52, he had recently suffered a heart attack that caused him to retire from thirty years of service with the CIA.

“You listen here son, if you don’t untie us and tell me where my goddamn daughter is I will hurt you in ways you can’t even _imagine_ ,” His file also said that he was trained in interrogation. The Asset knew what this meant, and he doubted an American could possibly have the creativity of some of his past handlers. When he told him this, Carl Lewis shut up.

Exactly Thirty Five seconds after that, the last two woke up in sync. His files told him that they were a pair. Luke Garcia, formerly Luke Lewis - and even the Asset could see how that could cause problems in a marriage - was another of the original parents. He was a Hispanic male aged 51, and he had been serving in the Navy since age 18. He was the leader of the Alpha team, and was three inches taller than his second in command, Jake Lewis, formerly Jake Greene.

“I am going to kill you. It will be slow, and it will be painful, and you will regret ever laying eyes on my daughter,” His devotion to his family was not in his file, but knowing Darcy as he did, he could understand it.

The final one, a lean asian male aged 44, was the linguistics and weapons expert of Alpha team, was Caleb Garcia, formerly Caleb Ng, and he was born and raised in the state of Hawaii. Although smaller than the other two, his file had said he was the most dangerous of all due to his cunning nature, and ability to use a variety of platforms to inflict pain on others. He did not speak, but the look in his eyes was one the Asset had seen before. A man threatened, his family vulnerable and at risk. The Asset decided he would be the most valuable of them all in this fight.

When he was satisfied he had their attention, he cleared his throat and looked each of them in the eye.

“I need your help,” he said, and sat calmly as they all spat insults and swore over various dead relatives graves that they would sooner die than assist the man who had stolen their child. The only one who didn’t speak, was Caleb Garcia, formerly Ng. He simply stared at the asset for a minute, before clearing his throat and ordering the others into silence.

“Darcy?” he asked quietly, and without blinking, the Asset shook his head slowly.

“They took her from me,” he told them, “And I need you to help me get her back,”

\-----------

The Asset was pleasantly surprised when he untied his four allies and found that they kept their word to not brutally murder him, he was not, however, surprised when the one with a temper - Carl - socked him on the jaw the moment he was free. Carl however, seemed shocked by his lack of response.

“Jesus, whats wrong with him?” He asked, and the Asset assumed it was a rhetorical question, so he began driving the van towards where he had left the Quinjet that Darcy had procured for them on the Rio mission. Three minutes and Forty-Seven seconds into the drive, he noted that Carl had not yet taken his eyes off of him, the Asset was used to being observed, so he let this pass.

“Are you… Jesus I can’t fucking believe I’m asking this, but are you - okay?” Carl spoke, and the Asset took a moment to assess his physical well-being, finding nothing out of sorts, he answered the question with confidence.

“I am functional,” The Asset noted that this must have been the incorrect response, and waited patiently for the man known as Carl to decide his fate. He made a quick calculation, and decided the limits that could be reached before he would need to eliminate the punishment for the sake of the mission.

He was once again surprised when instead of anger Carl reacted with… a strange emotion that the Asset was not familiar with.

“You poor bastard,” Carl spoke, and the Asset noted that the other men in the van seemed to be sharing the emotion that Carl was showing. The Asset hoped it was not catching - as it looked like it would decrease his functionality. “What the fuck did they _do_ to you?” Again, the Asset thought this must be a rhetorical question, as it would take an unnecessary amount of time to list the actions dealt to the Asset by the Handlers over the years.

The one known as Jake spoke then, and the Asset gave him an appropriate amount of attention whilst ensuring he did not cause any accidents on the busy road.

“Darcy’d kill us if we found her and he was this - this _shell_ of a man,” The Asset noted the way the other men agreed, and he decided he would have to make Darcy’s(The Mission) emotional well-being second on his list of priorities, the first, of course, being keeping her alive.

When they reached the field in which the Quinjet was stored, the men seemed to have decided that the one known as Carl would lead in a discussion they were going to have with the Asset about… his feelings? The Asset found it strange, but decided he would permit it, so long as it did not prevent him from readying the aircraft.

“James..?” the one known as Carl asked, and rather than explaining that the one known as James was simply not fit for the job of protecting Darcy(Mission), he gave a one word answer.

“No,” The Asset did not miss the sharp inhale from behind him, but again chose to ignore it in favor of running the pre-flight checks that Darcy(Mission) had taught him.

“James I… I know you’re in there, somewhere, and I understand that this is - hard… but I really think Darcy will need you when we get her. And we _will_ get her,” The Asset could feel _James_ rising the the surface, and he clenched his metal fist and slammed it on the dashboard.

“No,” he growled out through his teeth, and went back to his checks.

“James do you remember Carl? Not me - the llama,” the Asset searched his memory for any such creature, and when he found the desired moment, he nodded stiffly. “Barton was _real_ pissed when he came home from the supermarket one day and it was asleep in his apartment with his dog. I thought - oh god I thought he was gonna burst a vein in his brain he was so annoyed,” Before the Asset could stop him, James let out a bark of laughter and clawed his way a little closer to the surface.

“I know, she set up a camera in his room to ‘immortalize’ his reaction, she laughed so hard she peed her pants,” at his triumph, the Asset clenched both fists and slammed them on the dashboard.

“You love her - don’t you?” the one named Caleb asked, and before the Asset could tell him love was a useless emotion, James had surged to the forefront, and had banished him to the darkest corner of his mind - and _Yes_ James thought triumphantly, it _was_ his mind. Turning to Caleb, he gave a wry grin and shrugged.

“She makes it kinda’ impossible not to,” he said, and felt his smile grow a little at the relieved look on the faces of the men that had raised his girl. “Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to find her so I can watch her kick the ass of whoever was stupid enough to take her,”

\-------------

After that an uneasy treaty was established, it was something along the lines of ‘My daughter is currently kidnapped, so I’ll hold off on giving you hell for falling her until she is present to make horrified faces and whine “Daaaaad” a whole bunch of times’. They talked about their options for a while, and came to the conclusion that Stark was their best chance for finding her quickly, of course, that also meant seeing Steve, but Bucky was prepared to do literally anything to get her back, even face the man who had once been family. Before, you know, he tried to murder him brutally. Twice.

James fought to keep the Soldier under control as he sat in the back of the Quinjet and allowed Luke to pilot. He wasn’t used to having to fight so fiercely for his independence (Recently, at least), but he could see how having the clinical decisions of the Soldier displayed for him could be helpful. If he wasn’t so certain she’d be pissed off at him for emotionally bailing, he’d surrender to it right now. But he knew Darcy, and she needed _him_ , not the weapon they’d made him into.

When they uncloaked on Stark’s landing pad, they found the Avengers waiting for them, weapons at the ready and faces set in grim determination. When they saw Bucky exit with his hands in the air and Darcy’s father’s at his back, all but the Widow, Barton, and Stark lowered their guards.

“Buck?” Steve asked uncertainly, and he fought for control once more, unable to help the slight flinch that he felt when he heard his old nickname.

“We…” he began and cleared his throat before looking at each Avenger in turn. “We need your help, Hydra took Darcy,”

At his declaration, a lot of things happened at once; Stark dropped from his hover, and the whole suit seemed to sag, Steve took a step forwards, as if he was going to comfort him, and then looked horribly conflicted. Thor looked like he was thinking about burning the world down with his lighting. Natasha lowered her weapons and inch, looked him dead in the eye and nodded slightly. Bruce Banner made a small distressed noise, and curled in upon himself as if to stop the other guy from showing his distaste - Bucky knew the feeling. Barton though, he was the worst - his whole face drained of colour, and he backed up until he hit glass, and sunk to the ground, shaking his head and clenching his fists in his hair.

Barton was the one Bucky went to, dropping to a crouch in front of him, he made sure Barton was looking him in the eyes, so he could see he was speaking the truth, and wouldn’t miss any words.

“Can I count of you to do whatever it takes to get her back?” he asked, and slowly, Barton nodded before pushing himself off the floor.

“ _Fuck_ yes,” he replied vehemently, shoving his arrow back into the quiver and turning to look at him, “She ain’t allowed to die until _I’m_ the one winning the prank war,”

\------------

Twenty minutes later they were settled into the war room, and Bucky was glad that Steve seemed to understand that his priority was finding Darcy, and didn’t come too close to him once he’d given him a firm pat on the shoulder. Tony was hacking into things and working in synchronization with Jarvis while Jamie and Jane demanded he tell everyone exactly how it happened, when he got to the part about her getting shot, Jane shocked everyone by standing up, hurling a coffee mug at the wall and letting out a loud sob.

“ _Damnit_ Darcy,” she cursed before allowing Thor to draw her into his arms. Bucky chose to not look at them, because it just reminded him that he somewhere Darcy was hurt, and she was afraid, and he couldn’t hold _her_ to make it better.

Just as he was about to continue, one of the air shafts clattered out of the way, and a man in a full-body red suit dropped down into a chair. Ignoring the impressive amount of weaponry that was suddenly pointed his way, Deadpool simply gestured to Bucky to continue, and folded his arms behind his head.

“ _Wade?_!” Came the shocked question from where Luke was sitting, and everyone turned to him in interest.

“What? Who? I mean I have _no_ idea who this Wade guy is-”

“Holy shit,” Jake said, and took a step towards him, “It really is him,”

“No, Nope, I have no idea what you’re-” his frantic backpedalling was cut off when Carlos, who had snuck up behind him during the exchange, ripped off his mask to reveal a man in his thirties with sandy blonde hair.

“You owe me money,” Carlos told him solemnly before returning to his seat, mask in hand.

“Doesn’t _secret identity_ mean _anything_  to you people?!” he demanded, bringing his hands up to his face. “Oh fuckity _fuck_ sticks. I came here trying to do a nice thing and help you save my friend Darcy from the evil clutches of those Nazi fuckers and you repay me like this!”

His rant was cut short when Jamie, the woman Darcy had saved on the day he caught up to her, stepped up to him and slapped her hand over his mouth. Rolling her eyes at his shocked expression she turned back to the room.

“All in favour of the annoying power-ranger shutting up so we can finish hearing about what happened to Darcy say Aye,” she said, and when the resounding chorus of ‘Aye’s’ came back, she turned and arched an eyebrow at him. “Excellent, shut up now, Daredevil,”

“Oh come _on_ I look nothing _like_ that guy!” he whined, but quickly shut his mouth when she turned and gave him another fierce glare. “Sorry sweetheart,” Wade mumbled quietly, and Bucky thought that if he wasn’t so worried about his own girl, he might find it interesting the way her face flushed at the pet name.

When he finally finished telling them the story, everyone went silent for a moment, and Jamie opened her mouth - presumably to offer up a solution. Before she could speak, though, they were interrupted again, this time by JARVIS.

“Sir, I must inform you that my protocols are being overridden, and there are four unknowns alongside a Phil Coulson in the elevator. A put upon sigh escaped Tony’s lips from where he was seated, and without turning he pointed at Pepper.

“Security snafu, that’s on you,”

When the doors opened, Wade had managed to steal his mask back, and was sliding it on. Barton had his arms crossed firmly and his jaw clenched angrily as he stared down at the table, and if he didn’t know better, he would have sworn Romanoff was planning to eviscerate whoever came through the door with her stare alone. The rest of the Avengers had pissed off looks on their faces, and quite frankly, if they didn’t start getting their shit together, Bucky was going to be knocking some skulls.

Coulson was the first to step out, and if he was surprised by the group that had gathered, he didn’t show it. He looked around solemnly for a moment, his gaze resting on Clint a little longer than strictly necessary, before turning to Steve.

“You’re probably wondering how I’m here right now,” he said, and Steve - American icon of all that is good and pure - rolled his eyes. Actually rolled them. So hard that Bucky thought they might roll right out of his skull.

“Quite frankly,” he said, glaring at Coulson until the man seemed to shrink an inch or two, “I couldn’t give less of a fuck. We have bigger issues than you right now,””

“But-” Coulson began, looking thoroughly confused, “I came to-”

“Oh shut _up_ ,” this time it was Clint that interrupted. “We’ve known you were alive for _months_ man, and I have no doubt you’re only here right now because you need something-”

“-Well actually,” Coulson tried, but was swiftly overridden by Clint once more.

“But like the man said, we got bigger shit to worry about, so take your lying ass and get it out of our fucking building,” A chorus of agreements met his statement, and Coulson looked like he just might follow that suggestion, but then Trip - the one who had seemed to be close with Darcy when they’d met him in Rio - stepped forwards.

“Trip?!” Luke called out incredulously, and he spared him a small smile before turning to Bucky.

“Listen man, you guys can be pissed at Coulson all you like, but that doesn’t change the fact that we’re here because we want to help you find Darcy,” He said, and Bucky could see in his level stare that he was telling the truth.

“How’d you even find out she was missing?” asked Wade incredulously, and Coulson looked sheepish for a moment and mumbling something that sounded an _awful_ lot like ‘We were tracking you’.

“No way,” Bucky said certainly, “That isn’t possible, I woulda picked up a tail,” as soon as he finished speaking, Trip vanished from where he was standing for a few seconds before flickering back into sight. Predictably, every weapon in the room was once again, pointed in his direction. Raising his hands placatingly, he raised an eyebrow at Bucky.

“Okay,” he conceded, “Maybe not,”

\-------------

When Darcy woke up, she fought to keep her breathing even and not move, just like Clint had taught her. Wracking her brain, she found the last thing she could remember was - was - Bucky? Kissing her? No, that wasn’t right. If she pushed harder, she could _just_ remember a struggle. There was a lot of blood - and somehow - Trip was there? She thought she could remember him screaming her name, telling her to run and - No, she must have hallucinated that part, because when he was shot, he disappeared. It must have been her overactive imagination wanting to believe she wasn’t alone in her moments before death. Only, she wasn’t dead. At least, not as far as she could tell.

She decided that there must be something seriously wrong with her priorities that she was more concerned about where they put her underwear (They were _Batman_ okay and they were cute), then she was by the fact that she didn’t think she was _wearing_ underwear. When the haze had finally cleared from her mind, she began to take stock of the situation. Clothes? _Not Check_. Limbs? _All accounted for_. Stunning Sense of Humor? _In tact, thank god_. Throbbing Gunshot Wound? _Yep, still there_.

She was strapped the a metal gurney in what seemed to be some kind of lab, and she was lying underneath an incredibly thin sheet. She was suddenly viscerally glad she hadn’t shaved in a while, Take that, asshole kidnappers! She thought triumphantly, before she remembered who the real winner was in this situation. (Hint: Not her). Just when she was starting to get a little bored with this whole captivity thing (The movies made it seem way more exciting) a PA system crackled to life and a clear German voice filled the air.

“Gut Afternoon Ms. Lewis,” came the creepy voice that Darcy decided absolutely had  to belong to a small fat man with no hair and a bow tie. “I am so glat you could join us today,”

“Oh no,” Darcy broke in sarcastically, “The pleasure is all mine, really,” Creepy little bow tie man laughed suddenly, and Darcy realised he must have been able to hear her as well.

“I haf been vanting to get my hands on you since I saw you adapt so well to the Asset and your new… circumstances,” Darcy repressed a heavy shudder at the glee in his tone, and concentrated on counting backwards from one hundred as the sudden dread that filled her stomach made her nauseous.

“I am _quite_ looking forvards to seeing how receptive you are to any _other_ changes I can think up,”

“And _I_ am quite looking forwards to kicking you in your stupid Nazi mouth,” Darcy snarled back - and, shut up! She was scared and alone, so what if her insults weren’t quite as great as they usually were?!

After she finished speaking, a sinister laugh that sounded very much unlike the man who had previously been talking filled the room.

“It is time to begin,” the new voice said - and then the _real_ pain started.


	2. What Have I Become?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoyyyyyyy - Apologies in advance, this chapter is sort of short. But I promise the next chapter is long as hell and packed full of plot !
> 
>  
> 
> **Previously: The Winter Soldier makes an appearance and is promptly banished, the gang gets together to save their girl, and the girl in question is about 10 000% done with everyone's shit.**

_Avenger’s Tower - New York City - June 2014_

 

It was three am when the Avengers who had managed to retire for the night were awaken by an excited voice shouting over intercom.

“I’ve got it! I know how we can find her!” Bucky recognised Jamie’s voice, and immediately made his way to the war room where he found her bouncing on her toes and playing with something on Stark’s holoscreen.

“What’ve you got?” he asked, and just as her head snapped up towards him in confusion, the rest of the assembled group filed in behind him, rubbing their eyes and yawning. Stark strolled in at the back of the pack, and Bucky could tell he hadn’t slept since he showed up. Although, to be fair, a _toddler_ could tell he hadn’t slept in a while seeing as he was carrying an entire pot of coffee.

 

“Where did you all come from?” she asked, cocking her head and furrowing her brow.

“If I may,” Jarvis’ smooth british accent interrupted, “I took the liberty of broadcasting your triumph to the rest of the team, so that they could assist you in any way possible,” At this, Wade grumbled from where he had plopped himself down at a chair, wearing just the bottom half of his tac suit.

“Please tell me I didn’t just wake up from a perfectly good cat nap in the vents for nothing,” he grunted, and stole Tony’s pot of coffee, taking a large gulp. Tony’s indignant cry was cut off by Clint’s sharp warning to stay out of his territory.

 

Bucky kept his gaze trained on Jamie, who was wearing her pyjamas and giving Wade a … lustful stare? He really hadn’t pegged her as the type to go after a slightly psychotic mercenary, but as Darcy always said, _Whatever floats her boat_. When he cleared his throat and gave her a pointed look, her cheeks tinged pink, and Deadpool seemed to perk up a little from his slouched over position.

“If you two are _quite_ done,” Carl interrupted, giving Wade a dirty look, “Do you think you could maybe fill us in on your suggestion?” His question seemed to spring Jamie into action, as she began rapidly flicking through things on the holoboard and flicking some up to display.

 

“Well, it isn’t exactly the most _solid_ plan, but since Jarvis called you all in here before I could work something better out, it’ll have to do for now,” she began, and when she seemed to have finished searching the device she turned her full attention to Darcy’s Father’s.

“I used a program of my own combined with what I know about Project Insight to make a tracking system that _should_ find someone anywhere on the planet. The only problem is… I need a sample of her DNA,” at this, she shrugged helplessly. “So unless someone has a vial of her blood sitting around somewhere, its pretty much another dead end,”

 

In the silence that followed her statement, Bucky noticed Tony’s head slowly rise.

“What about her parents DNA? Could you work with that?” he asked uncertainly, his gaze flickering between her and Darcy’s Father’s.

“Real funny, asshole. I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but she’s kind of adopted,” Jake broke in with a snarl.

“What about her biological parents?” Bruce asked, turning his full attention to the men. At this, Carl shrugged helplessly.

“It was a closed adoption, I have no idea where to even start looking,” he explained, and Jake’s hand came up to grip his shoulder gently.

“Her mother’s dead,” Clint said casually from where he was picking at lint on his purple sweatpants.

“And how would you know that?” asked Luke menacingly, taking a threatening step towards him. Looking up to meet his eyes Clint gave a sardonic smile and shrugged.

“Darcy told me, she saw it happen. Suicide, she didn’t like talking about it,” at his confession, Luke dropped heavily into a chair.

“LA,” he whispered, and when Clint nodded in confirmation, he dropped his head into his hands and cursed heavily.

 

“That’s a shame,” Jamie broke in, “Because that could actually work,” Nodding to himself, Tony rose out of his chair and crossed the room, rolling up his sleeve as he did. Offering her his arm, he gave a tired smile.

“Have at it then,” he told her, and everyone in the room froze. After a moment, the dramatic silence was broken when Bucky began laughing loudly. When the others turned to give him incredulous looks he raised his hands and laughed even harder.

“ _Five_ dads,” he choked out, and within minutes, the rest of the room had joined him in hysterical giggles.

 

When they had calmed down, and Jamie had drawn Tony’s blood and disappeared to her lab with Wade in tow, Clint cocked his head and asked the question everyone else was thinking.

“How long have you known?”

"Since New Mexico,” Tony sighed, and gave a self deprecating smile, “I was thinking of recruiting her for the initiative as support, and Pepper mentioned that she seemed like the female, well... me. It got me thinking, and so I ran the tests,”

“Why didn’t you ever tell her?” asked Steve, scrunching his face up in a way that said he couldn’t imagine having family that didn’t know about his existence. Shrugging carelessly, Tony gave another little smile that told Bucky he was far more affected by everything than he let on.

“I figured she had enough Fathers who already knew what they were doing,”

 

Just then, a red faced Jamie and Wade returned to the room, sporting identical guilty smiles.

“So..?” Bucky asked, choosing to ignore the ‘Just hooking up in the lab’ vibe he was getting off of them. “What now?”

“Now…” she said, taking a deep breath and smiling at him reassuringly, “We wait,”

 

_Unidentified Location - Eastern Europe - June 2014_

The next time Darcy woke up, she was wearing clothes, and she decided it was an indication of just how disastrous her life had become that she counted that as a major win. The second thing she noticed was she wasn’t in any pain, in fact, she had no noticeable wounds. Lying perfectly still the way Clint had taught her, she took stock of her cell. She seemed to be lying in some sort of cot, and the room she was in was incredibly warm - or perhaps it was just her. Deciding that discretion was not the better part of valour, she sat up abruptly, and was surprised to find her sight perfect without the need for glasses.

“Did I get… laser?” she asked herself quietly, before catching sight of her reflection in the glass wall that was next to her face.

 

Letting out a horrified scream, she launched herself backwards off the bed and backed into the corner, staring at the reflection that was staring back at her with a horrified interest. Growing up, Darcy had loved her eyes - I mean, who _doesn’t_ love blue eyes? But now - they were a horrifying silver colour. When she blinked, they seemed to shimmer, and the colour was so unnervingly unnatural that after a moment she had to close them and look away.

 

Which was when she noticed the other obvious change. The odd warm feeling that had been lying over her like a blanket had suddenly intensified at her shock,  and there were small bolts of electricity flickering from finger to finger. Letting out another horrified scream, she quickly made a flicking movement with her arms, hoping to rid herself off the dancing energy. Rather than dissipating, the crackling seemed to intensify the more effort she put into throwing it away. Starting to work up a really decent freak-out, she collapsed to her knees and let out an ear piercing scream that could be heard miles away. At her collapse, she released a burst of energy that sent webs of cracks skittering across the surface of her prison, and in her despair, she wailed out the only question she wanted to know the answer to.

“What _am_ I?!” She was so wrapped up in her horror that she almost didn’t hear the velvet like voice reply.

“What fate intended, my dear,”

Darcy's Eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So who is surprised about Tony being Darcy's Dad? Nobody? Oh okay. 
> 
> ALSO
> 
> MutantDarcy/PowersDarcy - who's excited about that?!
> 
> I would love to hear your thoughts on the chapter !
> 
>  
> 
> **Next Time: The squad fucks shit up (Literally and figuratively), Some disturbing facts are unearthed, and Darcy Lewis really deserves better.**


	3. Go Fuck Yourself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Hello fabulous readers! I hope you enjoy this chapter :)
> 
> Previously: The crew assembles, arguments are had, revelations are revelated - and nobody was surprised by the tropiest trope to ever trope (AKA Darcy Stark). Also, Darcy upgraded from badass bitch to badass bitch with superpowers.

_Avengers Tower - New York City - June 2014_

When the alarm that announced Darcy’s location had finally been pinpointed went off, Bucky was in the middle of the first shower he’d dared to take since he’d arrived two days ago. He’d only forced himself to take this one because _Tony Stark_ had given him a pat on the shoulder and proceeded to ask him if he knew what a shower was. When a man who literally forgets to eat on a regular basis starts telling you about normal bodily functions - that’s when it’s time to snap out of it. Cursing loudly, Bucky turned the water on full blast, and almost found himself flattened on the floor by the pressure of it. Quickly rinsing the shampoo out of his hair, he barged out, dressed himself in full combat gear, and skidded around the corner at the same time as Steve - who was struggling valiantly to do up the zip in an improbable part of his suit.

“God fucking _dammit_ Stark and his stupid fucking inventions,” he was grumbling loudly, “Let _me_ design your next suit Cap,” he said in a terrible approximation of Tony’s voice, “I’m just here to make everyone look _cool_ ,” If he wasn’t so worried out of his mind about Darcy, Bucky thought he might just find this amusing. He also thought if Darcy was here, she’d high five him for that and yell ‘Progress!’ in a ridiculously enthusiastic voice like she had the first time he’d used a toaster.

Before he could offer to help him with it, Maria Hill, the former Deputy Director of SHIELD, came jogging out of the same room that Steve had been occupying. Bucky watched in surprise as she planted a swift kiss to Steve’s shoulder blade before doing the zip up and pinching him right on the ass.

“We ain’t got all day, Rodgers,” she drawled, and gave him what Bucky thought must have been her version of a wink and striding ahead of him into the War room.

“So,” Bucky cleared his throat awkwardly, “Maria Hill’s on board too now, I guess,” Steve opened and closed his mouth a few times before giving that stupid little smile that Bucky knew meant he was head over heels and shrugging.

“She’s a valuable asset,” he said in a valiant attempt to be professional. _Screw that_ Bucky thought absently, _If Darcy were here she’d tell me to stop bein’ an ass and start being more of an asshole._

“Yeah, I’ll bet, punk,” he teased before winking and making his way into the room, leaving Steve standing in a stunned stupor outside of the door.

When he walked in, he noted that he wasn’t the only one who was geared up for a fight, Jamie and Jane stood at the front of the room, doing what Darcy would refer to as ‘Sciencing’. Deadpool was hovering nearby in his full suit with both Katanas sheathed at his back and his mask on. Thor stood at the window, observing the storm rolling in with a detached stare as he transferred Mjolnir from hand to hand. Bruce appeared to be doing breathing exercises in the corner. Natasha sat on the table at the end of the room cleaning her nails with a wicked looking hunting knife. Clint was methodically choosing arrows the place in his quiver with a dangerous shut off look on his face while Coulson sat nearby shooting him anxious looks. Tony stood near his fellow scientists in full Iron Man regalia, offering quiet advice occasionally and looking more serious than he’d ever seen him. Darcy’s Father’s stood in a huddle at the end of the room trading guns and knives and adjusting harnesses that contained almost as many weapons as Bucky himself was carrying.

When Steve entered the room, Tony’s head snapped up and he said something to Jamie before enlarging a map on the holoscreen. Bucky squinted at the map for a second before he realised he was looking at the border of Hungary and Ukraine.

“Fucking Europe,” he grunted, rubbing his metal arm absentmindedly at the thought of the cold that would no doubt creep into his very soul at being back in a place so close to where he was re-created,

“Fucking Europe,” Tony agreed, “I’ve got some information on the facility we think she’s in, but it’s pretty huge. It’s going to take everything we have to get through that amount of firepower,”

“I might… I might actually know some people who would be interested in lending a hand,” Bucky said, thinking of what she told him about the Hungarian Mafia and how they announced her a Daughter of the House of Balogh.

“Who?” asked Jane incredulously, and Clint left out a huff of laughter.

“Who else? The fuckin’ Mafia,”

_Research Facility - Hungarian & Ukraine Border - June 2014_

The first thing Bucky thought when he burst into action at the facility grounds was that he missed Darcy’s snarky banter as he cracked skulls together, she always made him feel less like the monster Hydra had awoken in him. The second was that he was glad she wasn’t there to see the way the people that cared about her were absolutely _ripping_ through any resistance they met.

He saw Thor smack Steve’s Shield clean through three attacker's necks in one smooth swoop with his hammer on his left. Moments later, Clint stabbed an arrow through one assailants eye before yanking it out viciously and whirling around and loading it into his bow and firing it into a tank, causing it to explode. He saw Carl twist the neck of a man who had been creeping up behind his husband with a cold, detached expression, just as Jake himself shot a man in the forehead who had been fighting with Luke. Giving him a grateful smile, Luke turned and hurled a throwing knife into the back of a man who had been targeting Caleb. Finishing the cycle, Caleb raised his gun and shot a man who had been creeping up behind Bucky.

“Keep up, son,” he called jokingly before turning and launching himself into a flurry of kicks and flips that would make Natasha envious.

Bucky had to do a double take when he saw the woman in question clinging to the back of The Hulk and shooting her enemies down from above as he wreaked havoc and destroyed everything in his path. He wouldn’t have guessed it, but Coulson was a more than competent fighter, the man was holding his own with a wide array of guns and knives that were so well concealed even Bucky himself couldn’t tell their origin. His two companions that described themselves as inHumans were using their powers to alternatively startle and unbalance their foes before striking swiftly and with deadly intent. The asian woman who had yet to speak a word to anyone outside of her team was proving to be a most valuable asset as she tore through the opposition with her bare hands in a way that reminded Bucky of the women he had met in the Red Room.

Tony was using his Iron Man armour to scout the old castle that housed the research facility, but Bucky would hear the anguished screams of whoever got in his way over the comms, and he felt satisfied that not a single person that had anything to do with the capture of his girl was going to get away unscathed. Deadpool was slashing his way through the crowd with both swords moving so fast Bucky was barely able to track him, and heads were, quite literally, rolling.

Bucky himself was fighting the most viciously of them all, he dropped into a crouch as a bullet whizzed over his head, and when a grenade was lobbed in his direction, he shoved it in the mouth of the man who had thrown it and kicked him off of the cliff he was standing on. When he ran out of ammo in all ten of his guns, he resorted to using his knives. The large serrated blade he used gave a satisfying drag as he met each new opponent - but even through his battle haze, he knew that Tony was right. They were good, but they were outnumbered one hundred to one, and they weren’t standing around in a line waiting their turn for hand to hand chances. There were snipers up in the trees that Bucky was slowly eliminating, and countless foot soldiers that seemed to be coming in from everywhere.

Just as he was beginning to despair the lack of ground they had gained since the battle started, he heard the distinctive sound of heavily armed tanks rolling up. Turning around to appraise the newcomers, he couldn’t help the delighted grin that came to his face as a familiar head popped out of the hatch.

“We blow these fuckers to hell now, yes?” Ada asked, and Bucky laughed and called the others back over comms.

“Do your thing,” he told her, and then he got the hell out of the way.

When the rest of the guards were cleared out, Bucky was the first to kick his way through the heavy wooden doors that were separating the lab from the rest of the gloomy structure. He felt his heart beating rapidly as he looked around frantically for any sign of Darcy, and dropped to his knees when he saw the room was completely void of any life. In the middle of the room sat what was once presumably a large cage, but was now a pile of shattered glass. He was vaguely aware of the rest of the team filtering in, and of one of the Fathers letting out a loud curse and overturning a table angrily.

He jerked violently when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and he turned to see Steve giving him a sympathetic look.

“We’ll get her, Buck,” he said, and holy _fuck_ did Bucky want to believe him. Nodding shortly, he staggered to his feet and moved closer to the wreckage that presumably once held Darcy. Stepping over a man who looked like he’d dropped a hairdryer in his bath whilst simultaneously sticking a fork in a toaster, he crouched down to investigate the scene.  Over his shoulder, he heard Wade clear his throat loudly.  
“Well,” he said a little too loudly, “If there are no more bad guys that need killing, I’m gonna go see a man ‘bout a horse,” When nobody replied, he heard the faint noise of somebody exiting, and went back to searching the area for any clues as to what happened.

“The scepter has been here,” Thor announced in a somber tone, “I can sense its energy still,”

“You can _do_ that?” asked Tony, sounding a little fascinated despite the situation, and Bucky blocked the rest of their conversation out in favour of picking up a necklace that had been almost buried in the rubble. When he managed to extract it, he let out a low curse and sat back heavily, staring at the star pendant in his hand - he could remember the first time he had seen it like it was yesterday.

_Old Town Square - Prague - Five Months Ago_

“You’re wearing a star necklace,”

“Yep,” Came Darcy’s reply as she stared in wonder at the astronomical clock, “Man,” she breathed, “Jane would fucking _love_ this,”

“Darcy,” he said, and it came out sharper than he intended, so she whirled and gave him an unimpressed eyebrow raise. “ are you wearing a star necklace?” he asked her, not quite sure why he needed to push the subject so much. Rolling her eyes at him, she pushed through the crown that were gathered in front of the clock and making her way over to the cart selling Trdelnik. _Why_

He waited patiently while she paid for her sweet and juggled her phone and purse for a moment before taking a big bite and closing her eyes with a sinful moan. By now he knew better than to try to speak to her when she was ‘experiencing life’, so he crossed his arms and smiled indulgently while she devoured the pastry. When she finally turned her attention back to him he was still staring at her expectantly and she made an exasperated noise and threw her arms in the air.

“You are _so_ infuriatingly patient!” she told him disgustedly, and he made an amused noise and pointed to himself.

“Sniper,” he said as if it was all the explanation he needed to give, and really, it was.

After a few more moments of silence he poked her gently in the cheek and raised his eyebrows at the adorable growl she threw at him.

“So..? The necklace?” he prompted, and she gave one of her incredibly frequent gusty sighs.

“I don’t know! I just - ugh. It’s stupid and you’ll laugh at me,” she said, covering her face and peeking between her fingers at him.

“Darcy,” he said solemnly, prying her fingers from her face and staring into her eyes, “I swear to _god_ I will not laugh at you,” Letting out a surprised laugh she smacked him in the chest.

“You’re an atheist, asshole,” she reminded him before grabbing the lapels of his coat and pulling him in for a selfie. Sighing indulgently, he made a face at her for the photo before straightening back up and tapping his foot on the cobblestones.

“ _Fine_! God! Iboughtitsowecouldmatch,” she mumbled before becoming very invested in something on her phone and letting out a surprised squeak when he pulled her into a crushing hug and buried his face in her unruly hair.

“You’re _adorable_ ,” he teased her, although he didn’t let go. Slowly she wound her arms around his wait and sighed, again.

“Yeah, yeah, tin man. Laugh it up, I know you’re hiding a heart of gold in there somewhere,”

“I guess you’re The Wizard of Oz then,” he said softly.

_Research Facility - Hungarian & Ukraine Border - June 2014_

He was yanked out of his memories by a litany of impressive curse words flowing from Skye who was standing in the corner and holding an empty case with an odd shape in the foam.

“Guys… We have a problem,” she said. _Of course we do_ Bucky thought grimly as he stood up and made his way over to her and motioned for her to explain.

“Well… when - an inHuman is created, they used something called an Obelysk to trigger the transition. And they keep them in cases like this one…”

“So what you’re saying,” Tony said, looking pale, “Is that she’s one of _you_ now,” At this, Skye looked uncomfortable, though it was Thor who spoke next.

“Not all of those who enter teregenis process survive,” he said, a grave expression on his face, “But those who do rarely emerge as the same person that they entered as,”

****  
  


_Research Facility - Hungarian & Ukraine Border - A Few Hours Before the Attack_

The next time Darcy came to, she was curled up in a little ball in the corner of her glass prison with her back to the wall. She knew, intellectually, that she should be much colder than she was, but decided that the possibly life threatening fever was the smallest of her problems. Oddly enough, she could hear a muted voices, but there didn’t appear to be anybody in the lab. Sitting up slowly, she tried to make herself look unassuming as she strained her ears to catch the whole conversation.

“You have gone too far this time!” Darcy recognized his voice from the first day she was in the operating room. “She has _too much_ power,” he hissed angrily, and Darcy gave an absent minded stare at the flickering energy that seemed to be jumping from finger to finger of its own accord.

“Quite wrong, Von Strucker,” replied Creepy Little German Man (™), “She vill be ze perfect soldier! She is strong, she vill heal almost as fast as Captain Rodgers, and she possess ze power of ze gods!” Cocking her head to the side, Darcy considered this new information and decided she didn’t _really_ mind possessing the power of the Gods, it sure seemed to work out for Thor.

“And if you cannot control her?” The man called Von Strucker asked, and without even seeing his face, she knew he was one scary dude, “You have failed before, Baron, it will not serve you well to lose this one,” Letting out an involuntary shiver at the ice in his tone, Darcy curled in on herself a little more.

“Ve have a veapon now zhat ve did not have before,” the little creep replied smugly, and a feminine European accent that Darcy went ahead and dubbed Count Creepular interceded smoothly.

“She _will_ heed to reason, Von Strucker,”

\------------

The first time someone actually entered the room, Darcy was sitting cross legged in the middle of the cube and watching her reflection in fascination as the bolts of electricity danced up and down her arms. It did not hurt her, it almost felt like a loving caress - gentle and warm.

“It is beautiful, is it not?” asked the man who belonged to the voice of Von Strucker. Turning her intense silver eyes on him she gave him a scrutinizing once over. He was a tall man, and Darcy wasn’t sure if he was bald by choice, or just unfortunate. He was wearing a monocle, of all things, and Darcy immediately disliked him. Well, even more than she did _before_ he did whatever it was he did to her.

When she refused to answer him, he gave her a smile that seemed forced and unnatural, as if the muscles in his face were unused to the exertion.

“You do not like me, I see it in your face,” he observed, meeting her eyes unflinchingly.

“Well, you kidnapped me and strapped me naked to a table, so…” she replied, refusing to move from her spot on the floor and raising an eyebrow in his direction.

“It was regrettable that you had to enter the program in that way. My associate… He is - a little eager, when it comes to his passion, I am afraid,” he was clearly trying to play the sympathy card, but Darcy was having none of his today, thank you very much.

“You expect me to believe that a Hydra scum like you would have had me enter the ‘program’” she said, using quotation marks around the word program, “Willingly? What? You would have knocked on my door and asked politely? _Hey Darcy, How do you feel about become a freak?_ ,” she mocked in a bad approximation of his smooth accent. He surprised her by letting out a laugh at her antics.

“You think I am with Hydra?” he asked, giving her a more natural smile.

“You expect me to believe you aren’t?” she countered, and some energy cracked from her fingertips and hit the walls of its own accord.

“Hydra…” he began, seeming to consider his words before continuing, “It was a means to an end. A way to get what I wanted,” he explained, standing up and making his way over to her.

“And what _do_ you want, Von Strucker?” Darcy asked, cocking her head and refusing to break eye contact.

“Oh you clever, _clever_ , girl,” he breathed with a sinister smile, “I want people like you. And I want them all on my side, so that I may rid the world of its chaos, and its pain,” at this, he crouched down so that they were on eye level. “I want to change the world, to make it a better place - a safer place. And I want you to help me,” Darcy snorted loudly, rolling her eyes and rising above him.

“It’s funny,” she observed, “how much that little speech sounded like a Hydra tangent. You know, ‘We’re the good guys’ ‘We only want to help’ ‘We want to save the world’” she sneered, and he gazed passively up at her. “You _lie_ to people, you tell them they’re doing good. You _manipulate_ them. And then you use them up until there is nothing left but what you created. Well, guess what?” she asked, continuing on before he had a chance to reply. “You couldn’t break Bucky. And you’re not going to break _me_ ,”

Turning from him, she missed the glint in his eyes he stood and whirled, motioning through the two way glass at the end of the room.

“I was so hoping you would say something like that,” he told her, and his mouth curved up into a bastardized approximation of a smile, “After all, order only comes through pain. And I don’t think you’ve quite had your fair share yet,”

\-------------

Several hours later, Darcy lay strapped to a table in her glass prison, staring unblinkingly up at her reflection in the roof. She had been sliced, she had been beaten, she had been hurting so badly that she had wished for nothing more than the sweet release of death. But she hadn’t given them the satisfaction of seeing a single tear. Breathing raggedly, she let out a tiny pained whimper as one of the scientists used a scalpel to make a deep cut along her collarbone, making an interested noise as it slowly sealed itself until it was nothing but an angry red line and a memory. He raised his head and gave her a bored look before asking the same question he’d asked every fifteen minutes since they’d begun.

“Will you yield?” Darcy could feel blood gurgling up in her throat as she struggled to hold back a cry at the fresh wave of pain when he slowly started pulling the deadly sharp needle he had shoved under her fingernail out.

“Go _fuck_ yourself,” Darcy gave the same answer she had given every fifteen minutes since they’d begun. Nodding to himself slowly, he shoved the needle back in, and Darcy closed her eyes against the pain, thinking of her family and friends to dull the ache - even if it was for just a minute.

_Lewis’ Residence - Wisconsin - September 2008_

“Daaaad,” Darcy whined loudly, stomping her foot and crossing her arms.

“What?” came four different voices, all at different octaves and levels of ‘But I wasn’t doing anything wrong!’ Sighing loudly, Darcy pointed at Carl, who guiltily picked up the Glock that he had been sneaking into her purse.

“ _That_ Dad!” she accused, wrinkling her nose at him. From where he was packing up the car, Luke laughed loudly at his ex-husband.

“Were you just trying to sneak a _gun_ into your teenage daughter’s college knapsack?!” he asked incredulously, and Caleb grunted loudly and slapped his forehead dramatically, while Jake sighed and took the offending weapon off of him.

“She’s going to college, Carl. Not ‘Nam in ‘65,” he chided, tucking the gun into the waistband of his jeans and producing a wrapped box. “Although, because I too, believe in thoroughly terrifying your prospective boyfriends even when I can’t be around to do it bodily,” he said grandly, flourishing the box in her general direction, “I got you a present,” Squealing loudly, Darcy bounced over to him and ripped the paper off.

“A taser!” she gave an excited yelp and wrapped her arms around his neck, “Thanks Dad!”

“Oh boy,” Luke joked lowly, “What a lame weapon,”

“Shoulda’ gotten her a rocket launcher,” Caleb agreed, crossing his arms and shaking his head at her. Huffing loudly, she hugged them all in turn once more before sliding into the car and waving to all of them before pulling out of the driveway and heading off to college.

“Why do I get the feeling we’re going to regret letting her out of our sight?” asked Jake rhetorically, and the others all grunted their agreements before heading off to drink beer and grill steaks.

_The Middle of the Desert - New Mexico - August 2011_

“Jane?” Darcy asked, and in return her scientist/best friend gave an almost coherent grunt from where she was lying on top of their van and looking at the stars.  “I think you might be my best friend,” she told her thoughtfully, lifting up the bottle of tequila she was drinking from and squinting at it. “And if Thor doesn’t come back here, I will totally fight him for you. That is how much I love you,” A loud rustling noise followed by an ominous squeaking told Darcy that Jane was now probably leaning over the side and staring down at her where she was perched in the sand. Tilting her head back, she was met with the wide eyed gaze of one very drunk Jane Foster.

“I don’t think I’ve ever _had_ a best friend before,” the scientist confessed, and Darcy gave her one of her special ‘I-am-soo-fucking-drunk-and-adorable’ smiles.

“Thas’ ‘kay,” she told her, “We can figure it out together,”

_Classified SHIELD Training Facility - C.L.A.S.S.I.F.I.E.D - June 2013_

“Clint?” Darcy called from where she was standing in the middle of a room she had been directed to when she woke up this morning. “Hello-o? Bird brain? You here?” Noticing there were targets set up in the far corner of the room, she moved over to them slowly, and saw a bow sitting underneath a note. _Do your best_ it said, with a funny drawing of her hanging upside down from the roof and shooting Iron Man in the butt. “Boy has _issues_ ,” she muttered to herself, smiling despite her irritation at being woken up at the asscrack of dawn.

Running her hands over the weapon lightly, she picked it up and flexed like he did in _The Arrow_. It hurt. A lot.

“ _Ow_! Fuck! Goddammit shit! How does he _do_ this?!” she cried, dropping it back down like it had bitten her. Above the clatter, she thought she heard a chuckle coming from the air vent directly above her and she immediately began concocting a plan. Grabbing the bow, which she now recognized as one of Clint’s personal favorites, and probably chosen _because_ of how difficult it was to use, she made a mad dash for her room and ignored the indignant ‘Hey!’ coming from above.

Ten minutes later, when Clint came busting into her bedroom covered in dust, presumably from his hasty exit of the air vents, he found Darcy putting the final touches on his prized weapon with her bedazzler.

“Purple is your colour… right?” she asked, giggling like a maniac when he dropped his head into his hands and moaned.

“Aww, Bow, No!”

_Statue of Christ - Rio De Janeiro - March 2014_

“Darcy! Godammit, _Darcy_!” She could hear James hissing frantically behind her, but frankly, she couldn’t care less. She was Darcy Anne Lewis, and she was motherfucking _going_ to scale this stupid statue. Even if it killed her. Or, more likely, got her incarcerated. Turning around and hanging from the pick she had embedded in his skirt (No matter what people said - it was _totally_ a skirt) she raised her eyebrows.

“Are you going to come and take the world’s most epic selfie with me, or are you going to hang around down here and be the fun police all night?” she asked, and couldn’t help the huge grin that formed on her face when she heard him scaling behind her.

“Good decision, Soldier,”

_Research Facility - Hungarian & Ukraine Border - A Few Hours Before the Attack_

Darcy spent one last moment in the bliss of the past before opening her eyes and turning to look at the Torture Technician, who seemed to be perusing his wide array of tools on a medical trolley.

“Were you not loved as a child?” she asked suddenly, surprising him, if the way he jumped about a foot in the air was any indication.

“Is that of any matter?” he asked primly before turning back and picking up what looked like a jagged pizza cutter.

“So you _weren’t_ loved. Were you a disappointment? Did Daddy and Mommy want a child who wasn’t a psychopath?” she taunted, and she reveled in the enraged look in his eyes for a moment before he slammed the instrument down in the place between her ribs, and all she could see, all she could feel, was the white hot searing _pain_ again.

“That is _quite_ enough,” came the feminine voice Darcy remembered from earlier, and all of a sudden, the pain had stopped. “They say you do not cry, my child, no matter the pain you feel,” she crooned, and Darcy found herself compelled by her voice - even as her brain was screaming at her to get as far away from this woman as she could. Instead of answering, Darcy raised her blood covered head and stared defiantly into the eyes of the newcomer.

“Oh _yes_ ,” the woman breathed, giving her a brilliant smile. Darcy was shocked to see you couldn’t have been a day older than she herself was, “You do have the spirit of a true warrior,” she continued, trailing her fingertips along Darcy’s exposed abdomen. They were glowing red, and Darcy found herself transfixed by the sight. “I think,” she said thoughtfully, gazing into her eyes, “That we shall call you the Ice Princess, For those pretty eyes, and that cold heart,” she was practically purring by now, and her hand had made its way up to her cheek. “Even an Ice Princess such as yourself has fears,” she said softly, cocking her head and Darcy watched in fascination as her red pupils seemed to glow. “Let’s take a look, shall we?”

The feeling that came over her body the second the other woman focused was indescribable. Suddenly, Darcy was transformed to a place where she was well, and she felt no pain. When she saw the scene unfolding before her, she immediately wished for the pain back - because it would be easier than what she was witnessing.

Her fathers were sprawled out in their favorite lawn chairs, watching over two young children as they danced happily through some sprinklers. A game in which Darcy used to participate delightedly when she was young. Carl reached a hand out and squeezed Luke’s. When he let go, he raised his beer in a salute.

“To Darcy,” he said quietly, and the others joined him, “Wherever she is, out there… I hope she’s happy,” The dread that filled Darcy’s body as he spoke was indescribable. Desperately, she threw herself at him, crying his name desperately.

“No! _No!_ I’m right here! Do you hear me? I’m here! God, please! _Please!_ Don’t give up! You can’t! I need you!” She cried, and Wanda found herself flinching away a little at the raw pain in the other girl's voice. Steeling herself against what she knew she must do, she put a hand on Darcy’s shoulder.

“They looked for you for about a month, but after that, they ultimately decided they needed to heal from their wounds, instead of keeping a false hope alive,” she said gently, and Darcy’s heartbroken cry tore through the air.

“No! You’re lying! They wouldn’t - they wouldn’t just _abandon_ me! They couldn’t!” she cried, and Wanda’s hand tightened fractionally.

“Wouldn’t they?” she asked gently, and slowly, Darcy sank to the ground and covered her face with her hands.

She looked up in shock when she heard a new set of voices, laughing loudly and joking around.

“ _Jane_?” she asked, stumbling to her feet and looking around wildly as the new scene began to set itself. They were in a lab, this time, And Darcy watched with a bitter taste in her mouth as she saw Jane and the Science bros sitting up on their benches, laughing at some science joke that Darcy probably wouldn’t have understood.

“Okay Science bitches, It’s time to get this party started!” Exclaimed a perky looking blonde girl that Darcy had never seen before. She strode into the room wearing an awful knitted jumper and matching hat - and _hey_ that was _her_ thing! - and produced a bottle of tequila from behind her back. Reaching into a box, the strange girl pulled out the mug Darcy had bought herself in Tromso and immediately dubbed her own forever and ever.

“You mind if I use this?” she asked Jane, who glanced at it for a second with a strange look on her face before smiling and nodding vigorously.

“Sure thing,” she said, grinning when the blonde tossed her the bottle of tequila.

“Rad, this is why I love you, bosslady,”

“A few months after you disappear, Jane is going to decide she doesn’t like how quiet her life is without you,” Wanda began softly, and Darcy moaned loudly, shaking her head vigorously and covering her ears. No matter how hard she tried to block it out, Wanda’s voice seemed to pierce her very soul. “So she hires a new intern, she’s quirky, she’s smart, she’s everything you were and more. She and Jane share a suite in the Avengers tower when Thor is off planet,”

“No!” Darcy insisted mournfully, “You’re _lying_. This isn’t real! It isn’t real!”

“Oh little dove,” Wanda sighed, “Don’t you see? It _is_ real. I am simply trying to show you the way,”

The next time she opens her eyes, she was met with a small reprieve. She saw Clint and agent Coulson, standing side by side and leaning on eachother, smiling at something behind Darcy fondly. When she turns, though, she feels her stomach drop out. Because there, in the shooting range, holding a bright purple bedazzled bow, was the girl with powers that had almost killed her in Rio.

“A little higher there, rookie,” Clint called out in the same tone of voice he used to use with her when they were training. Darcy was beginning to think she might rattle her head loose if she shook it any more. But she couldn’t help but feel like everything was so _wrong_. She knew this was a trick - it had to be… didn’t it? Turning to face Wanda, she made a mournful little noise.

“Why?” She asked, and it came out like a question and a prayer all at the same time.

“I do not control the fates, little dove. I merely see them,” Wanda told her, and at this Darcy hurled some of her powers at the wall angrily.

“ _No_!” She screamed, “You’re lying to me! Get out of my _head_!”

“Very well,” Wanda sighed, and Darcy found herself standing in an apartment with beautiful views of the Empire state building. Staggering down the stairs and towards a couch where she could see two men shoving playfully at each other.

“Bucky?” she asked, and her voice cracked as he turned and grinned at her. He was breathtaking, he had cut his hair short, and his blue eyes twinkled happily as she started walking towards him. Only to realize she _wasn’t_ the one he was staring at. Behind her, Natasha Romanov descended the stairs she herself had just walked down, looking stunning in a pair of Yoga Pants and a T-Shirt of Bucky’s that Darcy herself had once claimed.

“No,” Darcy begged, “ _Please_ , not - not him too,” Closing her eyes tightly against the sheen of tears, Darcy finally gave in, sinking to the floor and staying there as she heard the squealed laughter of the tickling war that was taking place meters from her.

When she opened them again, she was back in the lab, and as Wanda slowly lifted her hands from her face, a single tear tracked its way through the sweat and blood that marred her skin. Letting out an anguished scream at what she had lost, Darcy sat up, ripping free of the bonds that had been securing her and letting off a blast of energy so intense that the cage shattered around her and rained glass on her head. Wanda watched on with wide sympathetic eyes as she fried the man who had been torturing her for hours, dropping to her hands and knees and breathing heavily.

“Don’t worry, little dove,” Wanda said gently, laying a hand on the back of her neck. “I will make it all go away now,” It was a testament to just how broken Darcy was that she didn’t even raise a finger to defend herself as she felt it all drain away.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ehhhh? EEEHHH? How did we like it? As always, I fucking LOVE hearing from you guys ! Tell me what you thought about this chapter ! Did you like Darcy's little flashback scenes? Were we pleased that I put a little WinterShock in to appease your shipper hearts? HOW COOL IS POWERS DARCY? Deadpool and Jamie????? How mad are we at Wanda right now? (Be nice, the poor girl is going through some shit, too)
> 
> **Next Time: The crew find out exactly what Darcy _is_ now. Everybody needs therapy (EVERYBODY). There is a difference of opinion, And Darcy struggles to escape the clutches of the Octopus.**


	4. Fuckin' Mind Control

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twice in one week ! Man I am dedicaaated ;) 
> 
>  
> 
> **Previously: The Avengers and co. suited up to kick ass and save the girl, only to find the girl had other plans.**

_ Research Facility - Hungarian & Ukraine Border - June 2015 _

 

The mood inside the lab was somber as Tony hacked his way into the CCTV to find out what exactly had gone down in the hours before they broached the facility. Twenty minutes in, Steve came jogging back to the main room with a grim expression.

“You’re gonna want to see this,” he told them, turning and leading the way to a well equipped lab, there were spotless trays of surgery equipment along with some empty test tubes with different labels on them. Picking one up, Tony held it up to the light for a second before cursing violently and running back to the computer he was doing the hack on.

 

“JARVIS!” He called frantically, sliding his way into a seat and beginning to type rapidly, “JARVIS Buddy, I need you to hack into the medical reports after you finish with the cameras,”

“Of course, Sir,” Came the smooth monotone of the AI, and Bucky shouldered his way past an anxious looking Steve to look over Tony’s shoulder.

“Whats going on Stark? What’d you see?” he asked, grabbing the older(younger?) man's shoulder and shaking lightly. Slapping his hand away, Tony whirled and stood, clutching at his hair and breathing deeply.

“...Tony?” Steve asked gently, and Tony held a hand up abruptly, motioning him to stay back while he squatted down and rocked on his heels. When he finally rose, he slid into the chair once more and resumed typing as if it had never even happened. For a moment, Bucky fought within himself, before thinking about what Darcy would do in his place and sighing.

 

“Stark?” he asked, and took it as a positive when the man in question grunted slightly and paused for a millisecond in his typing. “What was that?”

“Huh? Oh, that,” Tony replied, waving a hand carelessly, “Panic attack, happens sometimes. Not a big deal,” The room was silent as he continued typing, and Bucky brought the heel of his hand up to thunk his forehead.

“Therapy,” he muttered quietly, “Everyone in this room needs so much therapy. _All_ of the therapy,”

 

It was only five minutes later when Tony let out a triumphant shout and projected the footage of the past few hours on the wall of the lab. They all watched in a horrified silence as Darcy fell to her knees, letting out an anguished scream and cracking the walls. After that, Tony fast-forwarded the video until a tall man entered the room, staring imposingly at her. He marveled a little at her strength as she straightened her spine and told him where he could shove his Nazi ideals, energy crackled around her and bounced off the walls as she refused to back down. He couldn’t understand why Thor thought it was such a bad thing - he thought she looked like an avenging angel, come to earth to wreak beautiful havoc on all of those who had done her wrong.

 

Then the tall man left, and Bucky found himself wanting to track down the little weasel who dared lay a hand on _his_ Darcy and rip him to _shreds_. Steve let out a little pained noise when he performed the first cut on her, slicing the inside of her arm with a clinical glee. Clint let out a loud angry curse and threw something heavily against the wall when she told him in a clear voice, to go fuck himself. He could vaguely recognize the sound of the four men behind him comforting each other as they watched their little girl get tortured. He himself hadn’t even realized he’d been clutching onto a desk so hard it had snapped in half until Steve came to him and gently pried it out of his hands. They all watched in shock and wonder as one by one, the cuts sealed up until they were little more than scars - memories of the pain inflicted. The dark part of his brain admired her for the way she took the pain, with a glint in her eye and a promise for revenge.

 

A gasp of shock filled the room at the first sight of her eyes, they flared unnaturally as she jerked against the restraints at a particularly deep cut - whatever was holding her new found powers at bay was clearly straining against her as she let out a high pitched noise of pain before she went limp again, shutting her eyes tightly and seeming to pass out. Bucky couldn’t stop thinking about the color of them - they reminded him of ice and energy and power all at the same time. They promised hell for anybody that tried to hurt her, and they were beautiful.

 

When a young girl entered the room, Maria Hill let out a sharp exhale of air. Everyone in the room turned to her questioningly and she shook her head slowly.

“That's - not good,” was all she managed before she motioned to the projection, “See for yourself,” she said grimly, crossing her arms and leaning into Steve, who had taken up his place next to her.

He focused back in on the screen just in time to hear her call Darcy an Ice Princess before red light arced into her brain and she arched off the table before settling back.

 

They all took an involuntary step backwards as she jerked upright and ripped her way out of the restraints, frying the man next to her in a scream filled with more pain then even Bucky himself could imagine. They watched in shock as the glass cage around her shattered and fell around the two girls, making them look like they were inside a snow globe for the briefest moment before Darcy once more sunk to her knees, and a single tear slipped out of her eye as the other girl said the words that made Bucky’s blood run cold.

_“Don’t you worry, Little Dove, I will make it all go away now,”_

 

As soon as the words had been spoken, JARVIS let everyone know that the medical reports had been recovered and were ready for perusal.

“Throw it up there next to the video feed, J,” he commanded, and as he did, Bruce entered and let out a harsh curse word.

“What? What is it, doc?” Natasha asked, cocking her head at him in confusion. Bucky wished fervently he knew how to read the damn gobbledegook that was projected. Moments later, tony let out a low ‘Fuck’ as he clearly understood what he was reading.

“I swear to god if somebody doesn’t start talkin’” Carl said threateningly, and Bruce took another hesitant step into the room.

 

“They didn’t” he cleared his throat and shook his head, “They combined more than one different super-soldier serum and they gave it to her - by the looks of it, they used the base of centipede and crossed it with extremis,” at the revelation, Steve let out a harsh epithet and kicked over another desk.

“That isn’t the worst part,” Tony broke in, his voice quieter than Bucky had imagined possible for the loudmouth billionaire. “They didn’t just give her the serum,” he explained to the clueless looks he was getting, “The mother fuckers _experimented_ on her with the fucking Scepter, but not before they exposed her to the teregenis,” he let out a humorless laugh and shook his head wearily.

“Are you telling me that they made her a super-soldier inhuman with possibly god-like powers?” Coulson asked quietly from  where he had been standing in the corner with his team.

 

A loud crack of Thunder sounded outside as Thor stared at the video film where Darcy was now sitting wide eyed on the ground, rocking herself softly and appearing to listen raptly to what the other girl was saying.

“The Kree weapon alone turns even the bravest into monsters,” he said gravely, ignoring Skye’s indignant shout, “But with all of these things combined, I fear that the girl we lost is no more. And perhaps we should consider the repercussions of saving her,” At his words, Bucky swiftly drew a gun and turned on the larger man, stepping menacingly into his space.

“You listen here pal,” he said, his voice coming out in a low vicious growl, “You so much as lay a _finger_ on that girl, and I swear to God I will _eviscerate_ you. God or not. Got it?” Before Thor could even reply, he heard the sound of a bow being strung and Tony clunking into his armor. Without turning around he knew that the four men had also gathered their weapons and were showing their support for his sentiment.

 

In the end, it was Natasha who ended the tense stare off, speaking in a calm and slightly detached voice.

“I’m inclined to agree with James,” she said softly, staring out the window and into the forest, as if she were far away, “It is not what you are, but _who_ you are that defines whether or not you are a monster,” at this she stepped in front of Thor and looked into his eyes. “And if I know anything about that girl?  It is that she is an impossibly good person,” Thor met her gaze for a moment before he seemed to droop and sighed heavily.

“You are correct, I am sorry. Lady Darcy is my friend, and I have no doubt that she is strong… I just fear that she is not stronger than the evil that the Scepter carries,” As he finished speaking, they all turned to look at the camera feed as Darcy’s unnerving silver eyes stared into the lens for a second, crooking her mouth up into a semblance of a smirk before the screen filled with static.

 

_Training Room - Alpha Facility - August 2014_

“ _Wanda_!” Darcy called - _Goddam Pietro and his stupid metabolism_ she thought angrily as she glared at the empty shelf where her pop tarts were supposed to be. As she stared, she got the strangest feeling that she had stood in the same spot in a different place, yelling at someone else for eating her pop tarts. But that couldn’t be right, Darcy had lived here her whole life - Hadn’t she?

“Yes, Little Dove?” Wanda asked, rounding the corner and smiling slightly at the pout adorning the younger woman’s face. “Ah,” she said, glancing at the empty space, “Road runner at it again?” she asked, as her face quirked up into a tiny smile.. Brushing off the odd out of place feeling that was tingling through her body, Darcy gave her a mock glare and put her hands on her hips.

“Well, you should tell the little pest,” she said, her eyes flickering to the place she could sense the blonde man hiding, “That if he eats my food again, I’ll drop a goddamn _anvil_ on him,” Before Wanda could respond, a blue blur flashed past, and a single cooked Pop-Tart rattled on the bench.

“This doesn’t make us even, buddy!” Darcy yelled after his retreating figure, but she ate it anyway.

 

\--------------

 

“ _Concentrate_ Darcy!” Wanda encouraged, and she was unable to stop the sparks that flew from her hands in irritation at the other woman’s encouragement.

“I _am_ concentrating, dammit,” she growled, shifting her stance and once again focusing on sending her energy towards the dead plant she was sitting in front of. After a few minutes of tense silence, the brown and sagging flower straightened up and grew, blossoming a bright green. Breaking her concentration, Darcy gave an excited whoop.

 

“I did it! I actually did it!” She screeched, jumping up and hugging her red-eyed friend.

“Well,” Wanda said dryly, patting her on the back, “You were the one that scorched it the other day when you had your little temper tantrum over the funions,”

“Hey!” Darcy replied indignantly, shouldering the other girl lightly and smirking, “I cannot be held responsible for what I do when _somebody_  takes away the hum in my tum,” Her eyes glazed over for a moment as the strange feeling, once again, that she had been in this situation before with different people. Shaking her head slightly at the conflicting feelings, Darcy perked up at the feeling of Pietro’s energy approaching.

“Oh I think you’ll live without your nasty American snacks, Princess,” came a new voice, and Darcy rolled her eyes at the speedster that blew past, pinching her on the ass as he went. Letting out a little angry snarl, she accidentally let off a small bolt of electricity, frying the plant once more.

“Oh dammit,” she sighed, thunking her head on the kitchen counter.

“What did I tell you about letting emotion control your powers?” chided Wanda.

“Shove it, witch,” she grumbled before pulling the plant towards her and focusing on bringing it back to life - again.

 

\--------------

 

“Combat training is my favorite kind of training,” Darcy sighed happily as she knocked Pietro off his feet once more with a bolt of lightning to his stupid Nike’s.

“Darcy,” called Wanda’s voice from where she was reading, “What did we say about using lighting indoors?” Huffing loudly and rolling her eyes, Darcy replied.

“That it is dangerous and not allowed,” she recited in a bored voice, turning and laying her hand on Pietro’s shoulder where he was frozen in place. “You’re right,” she called back to Wanda before sending a bolt of energy from her hand to his shoulder before releasing her hold on him and letting him fall, “That was _much_ more fun,”

 

Twenty minutes later, they were working on evasion when Pietro caught her unawares - a very unusual occurrence, thank you very much - and knocked her flat on her back. She knew, realistically, that it would take more than that to kill her, or even cause her minor harm. But when the wind was knocked out of her, she couldn’t help but blink in shock at the phantom feeling of pain in her shoulder.

_“Doll? Oh god, Darce, I’m here okay? Where are you shot? Oh god I thought you were dead, are you okay?” A man with shoulder length brown hair and blue eyes stared down at her in concern, His left arm appeared to be made of metal, and he brought a hand up to tenderly stroke her face. She had no idea who this strange man was, but she knew one thing for sure, he was telegraphing more love for her in that one movement then she had felt in her entire life - but no, that wasn’t right either._

“-Little Dove? Are you okay? Little-” Sitting up abruptly, Darcy used her powers to send a vicious blast of energy towards the twins, sending them both flying backwards.

“What did you do to me?!” She asked wildly, unaware of the deadly energy crackling at her distress. As the moments went on, the picture of the man in her head became more clear. he felt important - like she needed him. “You _took_ him!” she accused the other girl, “I _loved_ him and you took him away!” When Wanda tried to take a step forwards, a tendril of pure energy lashed out and pushed her back. Darcy could feel tears brimming in her eyes as she looked around wildly.

“Who, Little Dove?” Wanda asked gently, cocking her head and giving Darcy a confused look. Darcy resolved to not fall for her doe eyed innocence. She had _taken_ the man from her. “Who did we take?” Wanda repeated softly, and Darcy let out a frustrated cry.

“I don’t _know_!” she exclaimed, and the overhead lights shattered at her ire.

 

“Little Dove, you have to calm down,” Wanda urged, taking another step forwards. Darcy could see the red seeping into their hands, and knew without a doubt that it would be game over if she let the other girl near her with them. “Remember what I taught you. Do not let your emotions control you,”

“Why do I get the feeling…” Darcy began, cocking her head and glaring at Wanda with a deadly stare, “That you only say that because _you_ want to control me,” Just as Wanda made a move towards her, a loud bang echoed out in the hall they weren’t allowed to go in, and a big burly man kicked the door down.

 

The newcomer took stock of the situation before turning on the twins with a feral growl, much to Darcy’s shock, large metal claws slid out of the space between his knuckles with a neat _snikt_.

“Oh,” Wanda gasped, “They have told me _all_ about you. So much pain - so much _power_ ,” Darcy could see the build up of red mist forming around her hands. “I would love to take a look inside of the man who single handedly took down Project X,” she purred, but her progress was cut short when he whipped out a weapon that seemed shockingly familiar but incredibly foreign at the same time and shot her with it.

“Not today, Bub,” he replied in his deep voice. At Pietro’s howl of rage, Darcy quickly whirled towards the young man and sent a bolt of electricity to his sternum, knocking him back into the padded wall of the room like a rag doll.

“Seriously,” she said, looking down at her hands with a grin, “That is _never_ going to get old,”  

 

Turning to the intruder, she raised an eyebrow and cocked her head.

“So what was _that_ about there - um, uh, yeah, no. I don’t have a pop-culture reference-y nickname for whatever you are,”Letting out a rough laugh, he rolled his shoulders and smirked at her.

“Fuckin’ mind control,” he told her, shaking his head, “Not a fuckin’ fan,” Squinting her eyes at him, she tried to discern if she knew him from her weird double memory bank.

“I don’t know you,” she said slowly, “Who are you? No - wait, who is the man? With the - the metal arm? He has brown hair - He’s important, I think. Is he -” She was, once again, cut off, when a man in a trench coat carrying a staff stepped into the room and smiled at her mysteriously.

“If you want to find out, chére, I suggest you come with us,”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooooo
> 
> It was kind of short, but c'mon, two in one week. Even I'm a little impressed. 
> 
> What did we think? 
> 
> Poor Tony and his anxiety - I think Bucky pretty much nailed it with 'All of the therapy'. Also: Darcy isn't just powers Darcy, she's double concentrate super-soldier, super-powers/God like tendencies Darcy. How do we feel about tiny family super buns in the Alpha facility? Do we still dislike Wanda right now? She means well, the poor thing. 
> 
> And YES ! That was Remy and Logan, at the end bit there :) So now we'll get to see some Remy/Logan/Darcy type adventures, which should be fun ;) 
> 
> (Alsooooo. If you didn't read the italics bits, when Remy and Logan break her out, she's been in the new facility for months - what has Bucky been doing that whole time?) 
> 
>  
> 
> **Next Time: Two months later, and Deadpool finally drops around again. Jamie displays some righteous science rage, Pepper is the mediator always, and Wade Wilson states the obvious always. Darcy is terrified of Logan's terrible driving but is enchanted by society, she adopts a cat that bears a striking resemblance to her lost lover, and she learns all about her anatomy.**
> 
> P.S If you guys want to check out my tumblr, I post art and mostly avengers related stuff. I'm also thinking of starting a Darcy Lewis soulmate fic (BC who else could you ship with litERALLY EVERYONE) and would love to get some prompts either here or there! **shesasuperfreak-superfreak.tumblr.com**


	5. An Insect Gave You What?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys ! Sorry I took a little longer to post this: Explanation in the bottom notes. Enjoy ! 
> 
> **Previously: The gang go gangbustED when their attempt to rescue the damsel fails and the damsel in question busts her damn self out of captivity (With a little help from Wolverine and Gambit, of course)**
> 
> **ALSO : A shoutout to anyone who can spot the CA:TWS line in there ;)**

_Stark Tower - New York City - August 2014_

 

It had been two months without so much as a lead on Darcy and the team had split up and gone it’s separate ways. Deadpool hadn’t been seen since the day they raided the lab in Hungary. SHIELD had promptly gone back to their base and everyone at the tower had politely pretended they had no idea where it was. The Mob had gone back to Budapest, with a consoling touch on the shoulder and a sympathetic prayer. The Avengers had gone back to searching for the Scepter. Darcy’s Fathers had disappeared without a trace, although Bucky would occasionally get a call with a set of coordinates to a place that held no more than the ash and bones of men who had refused to yield to their righteous fatherly rage. Sam had been assigned to 24/7 Darcy search, and he was constantly trawling through CCTV feeds and checking out leads alongside Bucky.

 

All in all, he was starting to lose hope in ever hearing her laugh - or seeing her smile ever again. He dreamed of her every night, twisting and turning in beds that felt too big without her pushy presence to shove him into the very corner. When he was in the tower, he had taken to sitting in Clint’s room with the man in question and his dog and llama and trying to get drunk. He was yet to succeed. They would often trade stories of the girl with a heart of fire and an unbreakable loyalty. He wasn’t giving up, he didn’t think he ever would, and each day she was gone it hurt even more - but he was starting to steel himself for the worst possibility.

 

He and Clint were sitting in the common area one morning, and Clint was mourning the lack of Darcy’s ‘Excellent hangover homemade muffins’, when a familiar voice drifted down the hall.

“Honey, I’m home!” Wade called dramatically, stepping into the room in full Deadpool regalia.

“Indoor voices, Wade,” Clint groaned, covering his ears and dropping his head to the marble counter.

“Wade who? I don’t know _what_ you are talking about, kind sir,” he sniffed haughtily, and made an indignant squawk when Natasha walked past and yanked his face-mask off.

“Get over yourself, Wade,” she chided. Moments later, Bucky heard the telltale zombie waltz of Jamie approaching the room at approximately 2 shuffles per hour.

 

“Coffee,” she groaned piteously, and Bucky had no doubt she’d been up all night trying to fix the machine that they’d used to track down Darcy the first time. Before they had even managed to get halfway home from Hungary, a Hydra team had infiltrated the Tower and destroyed it - meaning she had to start from scratch. When she saw Wade, however, she straightened abruptly and threw the steaming liquid she was about to drink in his face.

“You piece of shit _asshole_!” She exclaimed, and Bucky silently exchanged glances with Natasha and Clint.

“Told you they slept together,” Bucky muttered, and Clint grumbled and slid twenty dollars at him across the table.

 

“ _I have to go do something important now_!” Jamie was yelling in a horrible approximation of Wade’s voice, “My friend who can see the _future_ says we’re _meant_ to be together!” Her face was almost as red as his (And he’d just been hit in the face with steaming coffee) as she continued, “I couldn’t live myself if I left here _not knowing_ what it would be like!” Wade made no attempt to save himself from her tiny fists as she punched him in the chest repeatedly. “You utter _asshole_!” She screeched, and when she went for the whole coffee pot, Clint intervened smoothly, holding the jug above her head as she struggled to get at it.

 

“ _Dammit_ Clint!” She yelled, making incoherent noises as she jumped up and down, much to the crowd her yelling had drawn’s amusement.

“Use your words, sweetheart,” he suggested before jumping up onto the cabinet and taking a sip from the pot only to have it confiscated by Pepper.

“Six year olds,” she muttered, pouring herself a mug, “I live with a bunch of six year olds,”

 

Letting out a loud put-upon sigh, she turned and fixed Jamie and Wade with a no-nonsense stare.

“Do you two care to explain what is going on at-” She looked at her watch, “Oh good lord, 6:30am on a Sunday?” Crossing her arms, Jamie turned back to Wade with a poisonous glare.

“I was just in the process of discovering a new species of asshole, this one here is at least three categories worse than ‘I’ll call you’”

“Oh, Come on Sweetheart -” Wade broke in, only to be silenced by Jamie’s indignant yell.

“Don’t _call_ me that!” Bucky felt like he was watching a tennis match as the pair descended into shouts of rage once more.

 

Pepper once more broke the pair up, and manouvered Thor inbetween them to keep the peace before turning to Wade.

“Mr. Wilson,” she said crisply, “Do you care to state the nature of your visit?” Nodding vigorously, Wade made a face at the sky for a second before turning back to Pepper.

“The last few months I was tracking down some friends of mine, I thought they might be able to help with… the Darcy thing,” he explained. “But then there was … some other stuff that came up and I had to deal with that before I came home,”

“Other stuff?” Tony asked curiously, walking further into the room and jumping up next to Clint and stealing the coffee pot back from Pepper.

 

“Yeah, there was this fight within my sort of family - y’know the gig, betrayal, mayhem, torture, murder. Normal family stuff - Anyway, that isn’t really the point…” he trailed off, staring out the window again. Sighing loudly and feeling sure he would regret it, James broke in.

“What _is_ the point, Wade?”

“The? Oh, right. Um. I sort of forgot, you know, with the coffee in the face and.. yeah,” he trailed off again, before visibly brightening and sitting up again. “Oh, yeah! I think the people who had Darcy are the same guys who made my Brothers and I,”

 

“Made…” Tony said, scrunching his whole face up in confusion, “What _are_ you?” he asked and Wade bounced on his toes for a second, his whole face lighting up with a grin.

“Oh _boy_ I was hoping someone would ask that! _Thank you_!” he exclaimed, grinning up at the roof again. _You're Welcome, Wade_. Bucky exchanged a puzzled glance with Clint before shrugging and turning expectantly back to the mercenary.

 

“Okay,” Wade began, “So… I’m not normal,”

“Shocker,” Steve interrupted dryly on his way to the couch, dropping on it face first. He was joined a moment later by Maria, who bypassed the coffee to flop gracelessly on her boyfriends back.

“ _Rude,_ ” Wade said before continuing, “Ha, Ha ha, _well_ , I have powers,” Silence greeted his statement, and he shuffled on the spot like a chastised child, “And I’m sort of a Super-Soldier? Who can’t Die? I mean, I haven’t aged in a while. Which is sort of inconvenient. Neither do my brothers, though, which is more inconvenient for them then it is for me because let’s _face_ it you would not want to be stuck with all of this,” he gestured at himself, “For forever, amiright?”

 

At this, everyone but Jamie made an agreeable noise. The tiny scientist had snuck around Thor and was standing with her hands on her hips. Her 'I've-been-fucked-over-andI-really-do-not-like-it' glare had lessened into her _slightly_ less terrifying ‘I will science you until I drop’ face.

“Explain?” she asked with a hesitant curiosity.

“Well,” Wade said, raising one hand, “Super Soldier Serum,” he waved his raised hand before raising the other, “Plus Teregenis,” he waved the second hand and knocked them both together, miming an explosion, “Equals… Me?” From where he was standing, Thor let out a disgruntled noise at the mention of the Kree weapon.

“What powers were you granted, Son of Wil?” he asked, and Wade let out an embarrassing little squee at the name.

 

“Oh,” he said after a moment, seeming to remember he was asked a question, “I just teleport,”

“You _just_ teleport?” Repeated Jane incredulously, looking like she might club him over the head and drag him down to her lab to help her with her wormhole research.

“Yeah, Remy and Logan have _much_ cooler powers than me,” this time, when he spoke, Bucky felt, more than saw, Natasha flinch next to him. Turning to her, he raised his eyebrow curiously, he quickly turned back to Wade when she gave him a blank eyed stare that said ‘Do Not Touch This With a Ten-Foot Pole’.

 

“And Remy and Logan are…” Bruce prompted from where he was making a rather large pot of his steaming relaxation tea.

“My Brothers who I went to find!” Wade exclaimed, and Pepper let out another gusty sigh.

“Ah yes,” she said dryly, “At last, we arrive at the point,”

“So Remy and Logan are… like you?” Bruce asked, absent-mindedly pushing away the coffee that Tony was trying to sneak into his beverage.

“You mean don’t age, don’t die, super-powered?” Wade asked, before nodding vigorously, “Oh yeah, they have the _coolest_ powers. Remy can see the freaking _future_ and do something or other with kinetic energy - I don’t really listen when he talks about it. Logan is way cooler, though. He has freaking _claws_! Giant metal ones! Well, They used to be bone claws. But then, y’know, there was some unfortunate trickery and torture by the big guy, and Badda bing, badda boom - Metal,” Sighing dreamily, he leaned up against the counter. “Boy, I wish _I_ had metal claws, teleporting is so lame,”

 

“Okay…” Clint was the first to speak after a few long moments of shocked silence, “So, they sound like they could help with the Darcy thing… Do you know where they are?” Pushing off of his perch, Wade made his way over to the window and stared dramatically out into the rain.

“Knowing them,” he said quietly, staring out at the Empire State Building, “Exactly where they need to be,”

 

_Logan’s Beat Up Truck - NY - August 2015_

As far as she could remember, Darcy had been raised in the facility that Logan had found her in - she hadn’t seen the sky, she’d never felt the breeze of a warm summer day on her skin, and she’d sure as hell never been in a car. Which was why she was now curled up in the backseat of what she had been assured was a ‘perfectly safe’ Chevy. She couldn’t help but feel like this was another lie.

“So you say you’ve... done this before?” Darcy called hesitantly from where she was clutching the edges of her seat and squeezing her eyes shut.

“Huh?” Logan asked, turning completely around from his spot in the driver’s seat and looking at her with a cheeky smile.

“Oh my god, Oh my _god_! Look at the road you crazy person! I am _not_ dying for six college credits!” She shrieked, desperately pushing his face until he turned around in his seat and concentrated on the road again.

 

“...Six college credits?” Remy asked, turning around from his spot and giving her a quizzical look.

“I don’t… I mean - I don’t know. Maybe I saw it in a movie,” She replied, furrowing her brow and staring out the window.

“They had movies in there?” he asked doubtfully, and she gave him a level stare.

“Of _course_ they had movies, they were asshole Nazi’s - not cavemen,” she told him sardonically.

 

\------------

 

“Woah. Dude. Holy _shit_ ,” Darcy breathed, pressing her face as close to the glass as she could as they drove through New York City. (The New York City!) Winding down her window, she stuck her head out and breathed in the smell of garbage and exhaust fumes.

“It smells like _civilisation!_ ” she cried gleefully, only retracting her arms from where they were waving in the wind when Remy cursed at her in French and told her she’d lose an arm if she kept doing it.

“It’d totally grow back…” she grumbled like a chastened child - but she did it anyway.

“Don’t think anyone’s ever been so excited to see Brooklyn before,” Logan commented, and she aimed a small kick at his seat before turning to the city once again.

  
  


_A Crappy Motel (Yes - Again) - Long Island - August 2015_

 

“Darcy- stop that! Oh god. Remy! She’s petting a stray cat! Make her stop!” Darcy ignored Logan’s whining as she sat herself on the ground in front of the motel that they’d pulled into in Long Island. The three legged cat that settled itself in her lap was immediately dubbed Luke Skywalker (Post Cloud-City, _Obviously_ ) and she decided that anyone who tried to separate them would be losing more than an appendage.

“Oh man, of course it has three legs,” he groaned before raising his arms in a surrendering gesture. “I’m not going to try to take it away! We just need to go inside now,”

“ _It_ has a name, you know,” she sniffed, pushing her way past him and bouncing onto the first bed she saw.

 

Settling into the middle of the bed, she pulled Luke into her lap and made a quiet, discomforted noise at the uneasy feeling that was settling over her like a heavy blanket.

“What is it, Chére?” Remy asked, settling himself on a chair in front of her.

“I have the weirdest Deja vu right now,” she said, her voice sounded lost to even her ears as Remy smiled sympathetically at her.

“There was a time when you practically lived in places like this, if my information is correct,” he told her before settling more firmly into the seat and spreading his hands wide.“You’ve gotta have questions, so it’s open floor, kid,”

 

Taking a deep breath, Darcy asked the question that had lingered in the back of her mind for as long as she could remember.

“Am I a monster?” At this, Remy let out a dry huff of laughter.

“No more than Logan or I, my dear,” he told her with a cheeky grin.

“Great,” Darcy said in a monotone, “What a _relief_. I’m no more of a monster than the man with freaking _claws_. Awesome,” Remy seemed to take a moment to take her in before leaning forwards and placing his elbows on his knees. He spoke in a whisper, as if he was letting her in on the world’s biggest secret.

“You know, chére. I have often found it is not what you are, but who you are that determines whether or not you are a monster” Letting out a gusty sigh, Darcy continued to pat Luke and dropped her shoulders.

“You’re right. I’m being an asshole. Logan, you saved my life - and I’m grateful for that. I - I know that Wanda and Pietro… weren’t the good guys. I mean, I don’t think they were,” she admitted, and Logan grunted in acknowledgement from where he was making himself coffee. “Although, I don’t even know if my name is _actually_ my name right now, so...”

 

“Oh no, It’s Darcy,” Logan called helpfully from where he was consuming an unholy amount of coffee and Darcy let out an indignant gasp.

“Like _Mr._ Darcy?” She asked, looking scandalized, “Did my parents have a thing for Jane Austen? Did they hate me? Is _that_ how I ended up with weird powers in a Hydra facility? Do I have _daddy_ issues?!” She couldn’t understand why the two men were laughing, but if they didn’t stop in a minute, she was going to sic Luke Skywalker on them.

“Oh wow,” Remy gasped loudly, holding his gut tight and coming down from his giggles, “You have no idea how ironic that question is,” Rolling her eyes, Darcy sat back on the bed and let Luke crawl up onto her shoulder.

“ _Men_ ,” she said disgustedly, and she took the gentle headbutt to her temple as agreement for the sentiment.

 

Ten minutes later, when the two men had calmed down enough for Darcy to ask them to _explain_ to her how ironic that question was, she was immediately stonewalled.

“How are you feeling?” Remy asked her, studying her intently at she scratched Luke Skywalker’s tummy. “What do you already know about your life? What do you know about your _powers_? How you got them?” Narrowing her eyes at his, frankly, poor attempt at avoiding her question, she decided to humor him.

“I didn’t always have these powers? Whatever - and I feel fine, just like I did the _first_ five times you asked me that on the way here. And as for my life, My name is Darcy - just Darcy. Like Cher. I’m 25 years old. I don’t know how long I’ve known the twins…. It’s kind of - hazy? The past, I mean,” she clarified, bunching her nose up delicately before continuing, “I try to think about what happened past a few months ago and it kind of... hurts. Like something is missing? Which, I mean, obviously now I know is the _truth_ , because apparently it wasn’t enough for those assholes to take my humanity. Oh _no_ , they had to take my memories as well,” grinding her teeth at the thought, she physically repressed the buzzing energy that was itching to make its way past her hands and hurt whatever was distressing her. “I think - that I was an orphan. I mean, I have this feeling of maybe having a family… once. But then I was just - alone. I don’t really remember _anything_ about life outside of that damn windowless apartment. Except for the man with the metal arm. I… I knew him,”

 

“What do you know about who I was? Who I am?” she asked, and resisted the urge to zap Remy when, instead of answering, he shot another question at her.

“Tell me what your powers feel like,” he prompted, folding his hands together and leaning back.

“My powers?” at his nod, she sighed and moved Luke off of her lap, “Well, I have this sort of - current? That’s probably the best way to describe it - I have this sort of current kind of running through my veins - and it feels like … sort of like static electricity? But not in a bad way? If that makes an sense?” At his encouraging nod, she rolled her neck and concentrated for a moment before continuing.

 

“And I can also… sense other people’s energy. Like, for example, the couple in the room next door have been fucking _all_ day and the lust that is rolling off them is both a little stifling and very disconcerting when I’m trying to have a serious conversation,” Logan choked slightly from somewhere behind her as she focused once more, “The guy at the front desk is depressed. Like - seriously. I’m sort of concerned he’s going to hang himself, or at least drink all of our minibar refills. Someone should probably get him some help. Logan,” she said, gesturing over her shoulder at where she could sense him standing, “Has this whole constant agony thing going for him. Like, _Holy Manpain, Batman_. And you…” she fixed Remy with a level stare and a small smile, “You are yearning for a lost lover. She left, and now you’re having trouble finding a reason to get out of bed in the morning,”

 

A few minutes of silence followed her revelation before Logan threw himself down on the bed next to her and smirked.

“Well..” he said, “She’s not wrong. I’ve been able to hear those two going at it like jackrabbit’s since before we pulled up,”  Wincing sympathetically, Darcy absentmindedly gave him a pat to the head - ignoring his indignant squawk.

“Super hearing sucks _balls_ dude. I feel your pain,”

 

“Ok… so that’s it then? You can sense the energy of others?” Remy asked, and Darcy couldn’t help the snort that came out.

“Ha, no! I can shoot freaking _electricity_ out of my hands. Cool, right?! I’m a goddamn _Taser!_ ” Cracking her knuckles, she flicked her wrist gracefully, and they all watched as a bolt of electricity blackened a spot on the wallpaper.

“That’ll teach them to go for Grandma chic in the design department,” Logan commented offhandedly.

“Also, I can heal stuff,” Darcy added calmly, calling Luke back into her lap and continuing to eradicate his fleas.

“What, like yourself?” Remy asked curiously.

“Yeah,” Darcy allowed, “And other stuff, too,” At this, she proudly held up Luke, who had been mangey at best a few minutes before - and was now a healthy looking cat (Minus a leg) with a glossy black coat.

“Shit,” Logan breathed out, and both men leant in to inspect her handiwork. Luke Skywalker was quick to remind them that he was a badass tomcat that was not having any of their cooing today. He _was_ accepting discreet bully-rubs, though.

 

“Alright, so _that’s_ it now…right?” Remy asked again, and Darcy couldn’t help but feel a little insulted by his narrow mindedness.

“What do _you_ think?” she asked with a smirk before turning her attention to the bedside lamp. Concentrating for a second, she turned it on with her mind. Logan leant over and unplugged it, but the lamp remained on.

“Okay, so you can turn a lamp on,” Remy conceded, making it very clear he was unimpressed. Raising an eyebrow at him, Darcy commanded the lamp to rise until it was floating over his head. When he still appeared unimpressed, she threw it at the wall, only to stop it at the last moment, and allow it to float harmlessly back to its perch beside the bed.

 

“You gotta admit, that’d be handy as hell in a fight,” Logan broke in, giving her a roguish grin.

“Also,” She broke in, “I’m really hot,”

“Yes… You are,” Remy replied, giving her a predatory smile, “That has _nothing_ to do with what they did to you, Chére,”

“No, you idiot,” she scoffed, rolling her eyes at him, “I meant my temperature. My _temperature_ is always really hot. No matter what, it’s pretty convenient actually, I’m like my own space heater,”

“Ah, That’d be the extremis,” he said, tilting his head and looking thoughtfully at her.

“Extremis?” Darcy asked cautiously, not sure if she actually _wanted_ the answer.

“The super soldier serum they gave you,” Logan supplied helpfully before going back to scratching Luke Skywalker behind the ears.

“Wait. _Wait_. Holy shit! Super Soldier Serum? Like _Captain America_ super soldier serum?!” She asked, perking up and looking between the two men eagerly.

“Ye-es?” Remy replied cautiously, no doubt because of her flaring eyes and the static electricity that suddenly filled the room.

“Holy _shit_! That is so cool. Does that mean _I’m_ Captain America now?” Darcy wasn’t sure, but the heavy sighs that filled the room sure felt familiar.

 

Twenty minutes later, Remy and Logan appeared to be doing this weird silent communication thing that Darcy politely pretended to not notice while she read a file on herself. She couldn’t quite believe that she had four fathers ( _Four!_ ) - or that she’d met an actual god and forgotten about it. How could she forget about that?! She was also pretty pissed that other her didn’t have an apartment and a dog yet, but hey, baby steps. When she got to the part where the man with the metal arm (Still no names - or photos, this guy was _good_ ) kidnapped her, she couldn’t help but jerk her head upwards and look at the two bickering men.

“Other me was kind of an idiot,” she observed quickly, before returning to reading about her escapades.

 

When she finished reading the file, Remy came and sat next to her, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder and smiling.

“Are you… trying to comfort me?” She asked skeptically, she hadn’t needed comfort ever before in her life (That she _knew_ of, anyway) and she wasn’t about to start now. He retracted his hand with a small smile before getting all _earnest_ (Ew) and asking her if she was _okay_. Ick.

“Well…” She replied slowly, thinking deeply, “I don’t actually remember the last time I used the bathroom,” she said, and when she saw the confused expressions on their faces, she elaborated. “Seriously. I literally cannot remember ever having used a bathroom before in my life. Like, I know I must have - ‘cause I don’t smell bad, and I obviously have a bladder because I have to pee _now_. And I also definitely have to change. Because I’m just now realising it looks like a stepford wife picked out this outfit, and I’m pretty sure that is the shit I do _not_ like,”

 

“Okay…” Remy was clearly struggling with the dilemma she had presented him with, “So… go use the bathroom? And you can borrow some clothes? If you want,” he offered, and Darcy nodded gratefully. “I don’t think Logan’s would fit, for some reason he insists on wearing shirts so tight even _you_ couldn’t manage,” at her blank stare, he grinned gleefully and elaborated. “You know… because of your,” at this, he looked pointedly at her chest, and Darcy let out a disgusted snort and rolled her eyes violently.

“Right. A tit joke. I may not remember anything, but I’m pretty sure I’ve heard that one before,”

 

In the bathroom, Darcy was methodically stripping out of her clothes when she caught sight of herself in the mirror.

“Holy _shit_!” she exclaimed loudly, bringing her hands to her stomach and staring. Moments later, Remy and Logan kicked the door down, the former carrying a glowing knife and the latter with his claws out.

“ _Guys_ ,” Darcy stressed when where she was standing in the middle of the room, “I have _abs_ ,”

“You’re- She’s kidding right? She didn’t just scream like that because- Oh my god. I am going to _kill_ Wade for getting us into this. And then I am going to ignore him for a really long time. Like at least a decade,” Logan let his claws slide back into his hands as he began gently hitting his head against the door.

“Seriously! Guys! Where did these even _come_ from? I may not remember much, but I _totally_ would have remembered these puppies,” she exclaimed, still training her wide eyed stare on her stomach. Letting out a gusty sigh, Remy sheathed his knife and took a step into the bathroom.

“That’s probably the centipede part of the serum cocktail you were injected with,” he told her.

“An _insect_ gave me abs?! Awesome!”

“No, not an inse- You know what? Sure. Yes, Darcy. An insect _absolutely_  gave you abs,”

 

_ _

So I drew a thing - It's Darcy and Luke (Skywalker) , Go easy on me, I drew this on my ipad with my fingers (Bc apparently I am incapable of keeping a pen around without losing it)

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayyyyyyyy ! So how did we like it? I NEED FEEDBACK! IT GIVES ME LIFE !
> 
> Tell me what you think about Wade&Jamie (Wamie? Jade? Sciencepool? Deadscience?) 
> 
> What about Bucky and Clint's drinking shenanagins (Ft. Carl the Llama and Lucky the Dog) ?
> 
> Steve and Maria? (Personally, I ship this SO HARD AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY)
> 
> Darcy in general?
> 
> Also: The reason I haven't posted as frequently or had time to write ; I GOT A BIG GIRL JOB! LIKE AN ADULT ! I'm a travel agent now biatches ! 
> 
> Seriously though, I will DEFINITELY still post at least once a fortnight, and hopefully get around to that Darcy soulmate fic soon (I still need more prompts, people!!!!)
> 
> **Next Time: James and Sam find Darcy (But they also kind of don't), The avengers find the Scepter (And a bonus Tiny Asshole German Scientist in the process). Meanwhile, Logan is an actual child, Remy LeBeau is an actual puppy dog, and Darcy Lewis (And by association; Luke Skywalker) are sick of errrbodies shit. (We're looking at YOU, magneto)**


	6. Memory Bingo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I FINALLY UPDATED!!! Because it's been soo long: here is a fairly comprehensive recap.
> 
> _**Last Time: Darcy and Bucky finally, sort of got together. Then Darcy was kidnapped by Hydra (boo!) and experimented on (Boo!!), on the upside, she gained some wicked powers. Bucky gathered an angry mob(literally), after a brief visit from the Winter Soldier, and together they fucked some major shit. Unfortunately, they were a little too late to save the princess. Fortunately, they weren't the only ones looking out for her.** _
> 
> _**She might be free, but she's not in the clear just yet. Anmesia's a real bitch.** _
> 
> _**Oh, And Congrats Tony, it's a girl!** _

Bucky was half asleep on the couch he’d finally managed to crash on at 10am on a Monday morning when JARVIS let off a loud ‘bing’ and informed him that his continuous observation of CCTV footage had yielded some results. Sighing with relief, Bucky called for Sam before telling JARVIS to project what he’d found up on the wall.

He let out a breath that he hadn’t been aware he’d been holding when she danced into view, moving about gracefully and laughing at something someone who was just out of view of the camera had said. She was wearing a long sleeved button up shirt that definitely didn’t belong to her, and Bucky didn’t even flinch when Sam laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“She’s alive, man. That’s a good sign,” He said, patting comfortingly once before jumping over the back of the couch and watching himself.

The man she was with finally came into view a few moments later as they entered a new aisle, and another trailed a few minutes later, shaking his head at their antics. Suddenly, Darcy’s whole face lit up and she did the funny little excited dance Bucky had grown to love before throwing herself on the first man for a hug. He was clearly well versed in avoiding cameras, because neither he, nor the other man had shown their faces once yet.

“She looks… happy,” Bucky stated, ignoring the way his voice broke on the last word as he watched her be swung around by the tall man in a trenchcoat whose figure looked vaguely familiar.

Just as he was about to ask JARVIS to turn off the footage, the man dropped her to the floor, and all three turned to the door in unison, dropping into protective stances. Moments later, the girl from the original footage in Hungary appeared. Whatever she said clearly angered Darcy, as she made a flicking motion at the men trying to creep up behind her and sent them flying into nearby walls before flopping lifelessly to the floor. He watched helplessly as the girl who he had since learnt was called Wanda(Codename: Scarlet Witch) took a step forwards, and the camera shorted out.

“Jarvis, buddy, can I get you to bring up footage surrounding the area?” Sam asked after a minute of tense silence broken only by the increasingly frequent whirring of James’ arm.

“I am afraid whatever interfered with the camera in the store also compromised surrounding electronics, Mr. Wilson,” JARVIS replied, Bucky thought that if he was human, that would have almost sounded apologetic. Grunting quietly, he pushed off the couch and shook his head.

“Not whatever,” he countered, “ _Who_ ever. She has powers now right? She probably shorted them out because she doesn’t want us looking for her,” Before Sam could reply, the tone that announced the Avengers were inbound after a mission sounded, and Bucky gave a grim smile before heading up to the hangar to meet with Maria and greet the team.

\---------------

When he arrived upstairs, Thor was carrying the scepter, Tony was slowing twirling in his pilot seat, Bruce was huddled in the corner looking haunted, Steve was talking quietly with Maria, and Natasha and Clint were glowering at the small man who was sitting with his hands tied together crudely. Raising his eyebrows at the unexpected cargo, he turned to Steve for an explanation.

“Bucky, meet the director of Project X,” he said in lieu of a greeting, sweeping his arm grandly towards the glowering man, “He’s graciously agreed to come back here and answer any questions you might have about his involvement in the kidnapping of Darcy,”

“I shall never talk!” the man cried, obviously going for the cyanide filled tooth all Hydra minions kept in their mouths, only to stop and make a confused face when all he found was empty gums. Smiling grimly, Clint help up a small white tooth and raised an eyebrow at the man.

“Looking for this?” he asked innocently, and when the man reared up with a snarl, Natasha planted her boot firmly on his back and knocked him back to the floor.

“So predictable,” he sighed, and shook his head as if disappointed before looking at Bucky again.

“You want the first crack at him?” He asked with a shit-eating grin grin. As he nodded, Bucky felt the first fluttering sign of hope in his gut in months.

\-----------------

Twenty minutes later, Bucky had changed into his working clothes (Things he wouldn’t mind getting a little blood on), and was sitting across the table from the man while Natasha hovered imposingly in the doorway. Tony breezed past them as he was shuffling some papers on the metal table and stuck his head in.

“Don’t forget we have the party tonight,” He reminded them with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, “So no bloodstains that you can’t wash out before then,” at this, he gave Natasha a pointed look before flouncing back out the door and up to his lab.

Finally turning his attention to the man in front of him, Bucky began reading off the papers he’d been brought. The man’s face slowly drained of color as Bucky listed all of his known aliases, bases where he worked, living family members, and property portfolio. When he’d finished, Bucky turned ice cold eyes on him and stared.

“Basically,” he said, “What I’m saying is; if you don’t cooperate, I’m going to make your life a living _hell_. You are going to wish you’d never crawled out of whatever hole you came from. And I am going to enjoy it,”

Letting out an overdramatic sigh, the man slumped in his seat and looked up at him.

“Very vell, Mister Barnes, you have me exactly vhere you vant. What shall you ask first?” Bucky had a bad feeling about the glint in the smaller man’s eyes, but leant forwards and snarled his question into his face anyway.

“Where the _fuck_ is Darcy?” The man let out a short, startled laugh, before shaking his head in amusement.

“Ah yes, Darcy Lewis. My favourite pet monster,” he said jovially, and Bucky couldn’t help the knee-jerk reaction he had to stand up and drag the other man to his feet.

“Don’t call her that,” he growled, and the Baron pet his hands placatingly for a minute for he dropped him back into his seat.

“Ah yes,” he said smugly, straightening his tie and looking like the cat that ate the canary. “I almost forgot. Ze Vinter Soldier and Ze Ice Princess. You two are like a harlequin novel. Ze kind my vife used to read,” he leaned forwards and spoke in a conspiratorial whisper, “Before I killed her, of course. I don’t imagine she reads much of anything, nowadays,” He heard Natasha shift behind him, and he knew, without a doubt, that she had pulled out one of her impressively large hunting knives and was using it to clean her nails.

“I can see ze cover now: _In a fight, they’re lethal… But around eachozher, zey melt_ ,” Bucky leant forwards and got right in his face before flicking a knife of his own from his belt and planting it firmly in the metal table between the Baron’s hands.

“If you don’t shut the fuck up, the next one’s goin’ in your hand,” he told him dangerously before yanking the weapon back out and sitting back. The Baron stared at the now gaping hole in the sturdy table for a moment before returning his gaze to Bucky’s.

“If it is any consolation, I have been told zat she remembered you long after she forgot herself,” he said, eyes taking in every movement as Bucky fought to not flinch visibly.

“What,” he took a moment to compose himself before continuing, “Does that even _mean_?” he asked, and he felt fairly certain that if it weren’t for the stabilizing agent in his serum, his blood pressure would be through the roof.

“Oh,” the Baron scoffed and waved a hand as carelessly as he could while he was chained to the table. “Darcy Lewis? She is no more. Even if you do find her, and zat is a _big_ if. She will look upon you and know you only as a name. Not as a memory. Not as a feeling. You vill be nothing in her eyes,” Grinning wide, he spread his arms as wide as they would go. “Ze girl is gone, and only ze monster remains,” he sing songed, letting out a manic giggle, he tilted his head and studied Bucky. “I imagine you know a little about zat, Mister Barnes,”

Letting out a feral snarl, Bucky lunged across the table and picked the Baron up by his throat. He ignored Natasha’s calmly worded warnings as he tightened the grip he had bit by bit, watching at the man’s eyes went wide and his face went purple. He only let go when Natasha did a complicated chopping motion with her hand that left his fingers slack and his rage unsatisfied.

“Fuck _off_ Tasha,” he warned, not taking his eyes off of the now cowering man.

“If you kill him now, we’ll never get any intel on Darcy,” She reminded him in that infuriatingly calm monotone.

“You heard him!” He exploded, throwing the chair clean across the room. “She’s gone,” he choked out.

“And you are going to give up, just like that?” She asked, giving him a disapproving stare. “You are going to give up on the girl who followed you to hell and back without complaint? Who pulled you back from the edge you were stumbling along with no regard for your own sanity? You are going to give up on the girl who changed who she was to save you?” At his sullen silence, she nodded briefly before shoving him towards the door.

“I didn’t think so, now go. This will be over faster if I do the…” pausing, she gave the now cowering man a predatory smile, “talking,”

**  
  
**

_A Crappy Motel (Again) - Long Island - August 2014_

__

“So - not that I’m not like, digging this whole illicit affair vibe we’ve got going in this dodgy motel, but do you guys have a plan?” Darcy asked curiously, hanging upside down from her perch on the bed in the aforementioned dingy motel room.

“A plan?” Remy replied, giving her an amused smile as she absent mindedly used her powers to slowly rearrange the furniture.

“A plan,” she affirmed, “You know that thing that happens when your head brain thinks about actionable things that aren’t entirely stupid and you form them into a semi coherent structure and carry them out - preferably in a way that avoids bodily harm,”

“Ah,” he replied with a cheeky grin, “As it so happens, chére, I do have one of those,”

Ceasing her re-decoration of the place, Darcy sat up and gave him an interested smile.

“Well?” she prompted, doing her best ‘I’m listening’ face, “Do share with the class, LeBeau”

"Do you remember hearing of a man by the name of Charles Xavier?" He asked before dodging the pillow she lobbed in his direction.

"That joke got old the first time you told it," she retorted shortly, flipping him off when he let out a loud laugh.

"Believe it or not," he chortled, "That one was an accident," When her only response was to roll her eyes and scoop Luke Skywalker onto her stomach, he continued on with his idea.

"As I was saying before my hilarious word choice got in the way," he said, "Charles Xavier is a freak like us, or as he likes to say - a mutant,"

"He calls himself a mutant?" Darcy asked incredulously, screwing up her nose, "God, that's grim," Instead of replying to her outburst, he studiously ignored her and continued on.

" _Anyway_ , he's a telekinetic," at the unenthusiastic silence that met his grand statement, he grabbed his staff and poked her in the side. "Hello? Telekentik? As in he can fix the mashed porridge that is your brain?" Screwing her nose up at him and knocking his stick across the room Darcy rolled off the bed and began pacing.

"Call me crazy," she said tersely, pushing her hands through her hair, "but I'm not exactly thrilled by the idea of having another person rummaging around in my head. It's getting kinda crowded in there as it is,"

"Trust me," Logan piped up from where he'd been reading an old western in the corner of the room, "If you're going to have anyone messing around in your head - he's the guy you want," When his statement was met with more reluctant silence, he got up and grabbed her by the shoulders, staring into her eyes.

"Do you want what they took from you?" He asked her seriously, and when she sighed loudly and nodded, he gave her a feral grin.

"Well Bub, let's go get it back,"

\---------------

"Remind me again why we're in a Walmart right now," Logan groused from his place behind Darcy and Remy as they flounced through the store, throwing everything they could reach into their baskets.

"Because if I have to go anywhere with you in that death trap you call a car, then I need snacks," Darcy called back with a grin, "Also, we need to buy you shirts that actually _fit_ ,"

"My shirts fit," he rumbled from behind her and she turned to Remy with a knowing smirk and a snort.

"A six year old, maybe," she taunted, and when she saw the overgrown man make a pouty face at her she let out a loud laugh. "Oh come on Wolverine, cheer up!"

"I swear to god Bub," he grunted in annoyance, "if you call me that one more time I'm going to take my goddamn death trap of a truck and _leave you behind_ ," Nudging Remy in the side, Darcy rolled her eyes dramatically.

"Actual child James Howlett, everybody," she said loudly before freezing in place as she was hit with a powerful memory.

"Holy shit," she whispered, before turning to Remy and letting out an excited squeal. "I remember his name! Remy! The man with the metal arm is James!"

"You remember? Chére! That is incredible!" He exclaimed, swinging her around when she jumped into his arms. She couldn't remember the last time she was so excited that she actually felt the need to be tactile with another person, but she sure as hell hoped she would soon.

Just as she was about to hug the cause of her revelation - actual child James Howlett - who was currently crossing his arms and obviously trying very hard to look entirely unaffected, the windows in the front of the store shattered. Groaning loudly, Darcy turned to the people storming through the shattered space and snarled.

"You see," Remy quipped casually as he unsheathed a glowing knife from under his coat, "This is why we can't have nice things,"

“Darcy,” Wanda said calmly from where she was standing amongst the rubble, and wasn’t that a fantastic metaphor for everything Darcy saw in the other woman, “It’s time for you to come home,”

“Oh?” Darcy asked, a deadly calm in her voice, “That’s odd - ‘cause according to _my_ watch, it’s time for you to go fuck yourself,” Wanda’s carefree laughter seemed to fill up the space as her eyes flickered from person to person.

“Little dove,” she mocked, “Do you _really_ think you can beat me? What is it you americans say? Do not bite the hand that feeds you?”

“Unfortunately for you,” Darcy began, dashing the men who had been sneaking up from behind into a wall with a flick of her wrist, “This monster just learnt how to feed herself,”

The air was alive with static electricity as her anger rolled over her in waves, and even Remy took a step back as the room almost seemed to waver.

“Darcy,” Wanda barked out sharply as the man to her left fell in a lifeless heap with his neck twisted at a sickening angle, “Stop this. Now!”  Letting out a slightly hysterical laugh, Darcy took out another man.

“I think it is _adorable_ how you think you have the right to order me around like some kind of twisted mother hen,” she snarled, “I’m not your kid. I’m _not_ your family. Hell, I’m not even your _friend_ ,”

“Don’t say that. Don’t you say that,” the other girls broke as she spoke, and for the first time, Darcy flinched away slightly. “I _protected_ you. I looked out for you! You don’t understand Darcy, I _had_ to. It was the only way. And now you have to come with us, or they will _make_ me hurt you. I don’t want to hurt you - don’t, don’t make me hurt you,” her voice came out as a broken whisper as she walked forwards slowly, ignoring the way Remy and Logan were warily eyeing off the ever growing number of soldiers filling the area. “Darcy. You _are_ family. You are my sister - and I do not want anything bad to happen to you because you picked the wrong side. All Hydra wants to do is eradicate the _liars_ who say they are protecting us. They aren’t. They’re monsters too - just like the rest of us,”

“You poor idiot,” Darcy said quietly, staring into the flickering red irises of the other girl, “You picked the wrong side. And you can tell your bosses that they fucked with the wrong girl,” As soon as she finished speaking, the soldiers outside seemed to decide they were sick of waiting for Wanda to talk her down and launched a cannister inside that was leaking a strange coloured gas. Before she could react Logan had kicked it back outside and was yanking her backwards by her shirt.

“Get in the car!” he yelled, and she spared one glance for the basket of goods they were leaving behind before diving headfirst into the backseat and covering Luke’s cage with her body as Remy screamed out of the parking lot.

Logan was leaning out one window with an impressively impractical shotgun as they sped down the deserted road and towards the highway. He paused in his shooting for a moment to pull a gun from somewhere unseen and throw it at her.

“Help me get rid of this tail, dammit!” He yelled, and she glanced frantically from her hand to the car behind them. Just as she was leaning out the window to send a blast of electricity at the Remy let out a sharp ‘No!’

“We’re _literally_ sitting in a heap of metal - Do not electrocute us all right now,” he yelled back and she let out an exasperated scream.

“I’ve never used a gun before!” she yelled back, and both of the men rolled their eyes in unison before yelling back.

“Yes you _have_ ,” Remy screamed.

“Just _point_ and _shoot_ ,” Logan ground out from where he was reloading his own weapon.

Sighing loudly, Darcy glanced between them one last time before levering herself out the window.

“Alright,” she conceded, “I’ll try, but if I catastrophically fuck this up, its on you,”

“ _Shoot_!” Squeezing both of her eyes shut, she let off a few wild rounds before opening her eyes and narrowing in on the front tyres. Letting off another two quick shots, the car seemed to pause for a second before doing an impressive front flip and landing on its roof. Looking over at Logan across the roof she gave a broad grin.

“Holy shit. I _can_ shoot,” As she threw herself back into the car, she was suddenly hit with a powerful memory.

_She was sitting on the window ledge of a small hatchback as they sped along a country road._

_“Dammit Darcy! Take the shot!” Bucky yelled, and she could feel her face spreading into a huge grin and she slung a bazooka onto one shoulder._

_“Patience, my little cinnamon roll,” she taunted, and she could almost hear his grunt of annoyance over the whistling wind._

_“Oh my God! Stop calling me that!” As the grin continued to spread, she finally took the shot and blew the car up that had been trailing them. Flopping back into the car she turned in her seat and smiled at him._

_“But you’re so sweet and delicious,” she said innocently, ignoring the way he gave her the finger and zeroing in on the upwards twitch of his lips._

Chuckling quietly, Darcy repeated the words to herself, liking the way they sounded the same as they did in the memory. Noticing the quizzical glance Logan was giving her, she shrugged again, pulling Luke out of his cage and placed him on her shoulder.

“Nothing, just remembered something funny,” she said quietly, before turning to look out the window as the countryside around them changed into lush greenery.

\------------

A little over an hour later, Remy pulled into a long gravel drive. Noticing a sign hanging on the grand entrance, Darcy read it aloud.

“ _Charles Xavier’s School For Gifted Youngsters_ ,” She thought that over a moment before snorting with laughter. “Youngsters? Who even _says_ that?!”

“British people,” Logan replied shortly from where he was stoically gazing ahead.

“Ah,” she replied, moving smoothly as to not jostle Luke Skywalker, she jumped down from the truck and turned to the other two. “Well, lets go meet the old chap then,” when her statement was met with silence, she glanced at them out of the side of her eye. “No? Okay,”

Out of all of the things Darcy was expecting to see as the double doors swung open, three young and incredibly attractive people screaming at each other while one of the men held the other at gunpoint was not one of them. A young woman who was entirely blue and looked like she’d rather be literally _anywhere_ else was glaring at a man with glasses, who was clearly very angry at the man with the gun. From her side, Remy let out a startled curse.

“Weren’t you seventy and in a wheelchair last time I saw you?” he asked loudly enough to stop the yelling and find himself pinned to the door with the blue woman's foot on his neck.

“Raven, looking wonderful as always,” he choked out, and she snarled prettily at him before drawing two guns and pointing them at Logan and Darcy without moving.

Letting out a put upon sigh, the man with glasses shook his head wearily.

“I’m afraid it’s a rather long story, and you seem to have caught me at a bad time. Perhaps you could try again later?” Letting out a bemused snort, Darcy turned to Logan and raised one eyebrow.

“Is that the one who’ going to help me get my memories back?” She asked authoritatively, and she could feel Luke Skywalker puffing up as he hissed angrily at the girl daring the point at gun at _his_ human. At his nod, she tilted her head to the side for a moment, seeming to consider the situation before replying. “Ok,” she said curtly, before concentrating and using her powers to pick up Magneto and Raven and take their guns away.

Ignoring their outraged screams, she forced them to be still and quiet. When she had them both floating a foot off of the ground in front of her, she was momentarily glad looks couldn’t kill.

“Hi,”  she began, ignoring the wondering stare of the man who she assumed had to be Charles, “Yes, ok? Do I have your undivided attention?” A strangled scream escaped the blue one, and she nodded again. “Excellent,” she said succinctly. “So you see, Hydra - the evil little fucks, stole my life, and all of my memories. So right now, I literally cannot remember ever being loved - by anyone. Or what it feels like to love. Or even what actual real fucking _freedom_ feels like. And I really fucking want to go _home_ \- only I have no idea where that is, or who its with,” At this, the man stopped struggling, and gave a slight nod at her to continue. “So here’s the thing. You’re going to shelve whatever the fuck it is you have going on here, I’m going to get my life back, and then, you may resume whatever weirdo fucking foreplay you people have going. Okay? Any questions?” When she finally released her hold on them, the man looked up at her with a charming grin and made a flouring gesture towards Charles.

“Be my guest, far be it for me to stand in the way of a fellow mutant,”

Ignoring the way her skin crawled a little when he smiled at her like that, she turned to Charles and crossed her arms.

“Now. Charles, You are going to fix me now. Okay?” she asked, making it clear that she was leaving no room for arguments.

“Uhh,” he said uncertainly, scratching the back of his neck, “I’ll certainly try?” Clapping her hands together, she gave him a dangerous grin.

“Atta boy!”

\-------------

When she and Charles were sealed safely inside the huge metal orb, she glanced around casually.

“So, Cerebro, huh?” she asked conversationally, and he paused for a moment in applying a strange looking helmet.

“I didn’t choose the name,” he told her succinctly before looking up towards the roof  anxiously for the fifth time since they entered the room.

“Relax, I left Luke Skywalker in charge. Nobody fucks with that cat,” Nodding at her statement, he took a deep breath and gestured for her to come over to him. Placing his hands on her head, his face twitched suddenly as he flinched a horrible, full body shudder.

“What a _complicated_ web they have woven. There are so many layers, this work was not done in one sitting - how long did you say you were under their control?” He asked.

“Around two months,” she replied, standing tense under his gentle touch. Letting out a long whistle, she screwed his eyes shut even further.

“They would have had to alter your mind in some way every day in order for the damage to be this extensive,”

“Well?” she asked tersely, “Can you fix me, or not?” Letting out another deep breath, he slowly moved his head from side to side.

“I can’t -” his voice cracked suddenly, and he straightened himself before letting his grip on her head get firmer. “I can’t completely erase the implanted memories, but I can - I can bring the old ones back. So you’ll have both,”

“How will I know which is real and which is a lie?” Darcy asked, barely recognizing her own voice as it grew small and afraid.

“In time, the real memories will override the fake ones - before that, you’ll just have to hope those loved ones you spoke of finding will be able to hold you together. We are, after all, only as strong as those we surround ourselves with,”

“Okay,” She said after a moment of deafening silence.

“Okay?” He asked, and she nodded her head slowly.

“Do it,” she commanded, wishing she didn’t feel so afraid as he readjusted his grip on her skull.

“I must warn you, this will hurt - a lot,” Letting out a slightly hysterical laugh, Darcy shook her head.

“Oh doc, if pain is the worst thing you can promise - you really need to up your game,” As she suddenly felt like she was being stabbed in the brain with those electric cattle prods she’d seen the Hydra goons carrying, Darcy regretted that smartass statement.

_Catholic Orphanage for Unwanted Youth - California - 1995_

She felt like she was falling through an endless pit, until she wasn’t anymore, and she could smell freshly cut grass and hear small children screaming in the distance. Slowly, she opened her eyes and took in the scene before her. She was aware of Charles’ steady presence behind her as he rested a hand on her shoulder - but she was paying attention to the small brown haired girl huddled on the front porch of an old ranch house. An ugly bruise marred half of her face as she cowered into the railing. Big terrified blue eyes stared out across the field that was the front yard as the raised voices inside grew louder and quieter as the children roamed around.

“That’s you?” Charles asked from behind her, and she nodded her head robotically before opening her mouth to explain.

“Yeah - I think, I was kind of a smartass. I liked to know things, liked to learn. The others thought I thought I was too good for them - so the other kids used to steal my food before I could eat it. They hoped I’d starve to death,” She felt strange as she spoke, as if she didn’t know what she was saying until it was already out of her mouth.

“How barbaric,” Charles gasped from behind her, “What about the adults?!”

“They kind of hoped I’d starve to death too,” she told him in a detached voice.

For some inexplicable reason, the colors around her grew brighter as a feeling of hope filled the air. The front door creaked open, and two painfully familiar men walked outside, dressed in Army fatigues. One dropped to one knee in front of baby-her and gave an encouraging smile. His face fell as she turned her whole body away and pressed herself as hard as she could into the railing.

“Hey. Hey- hey, hey. What’s your name, sweetheart?” he asked gently, exchanging a pained glance with the other man before turning a brief and fierce glare on the stern looking woman who had led them outside.

“Darcy,” came a quiet voice as she refused to move from her position.

“Darcy? That’s a pretty name - Carl, don’t you think that’s a pretty name?” before the other man could say that it was, indeed, a pretty name, a ferocious glare overcame the tiny girls face as she whirled to face him.

“I don’t _want_ to be pretty. I want to be _scary_ so nobody every hurts me again,” her statement was met with shock and quiet rage as the two men turned identical angry glares on the older woman. Turning back to the tiny fierce child, Carl gave her a small supportive smile.

“Luke. This is her, we can’t leave her here,” he said resolutely, and Luke nodded quickly, dropping down next to Carl and giving her a smile.

“Darcy? Would you like to come home with us?” he asked quietly, searching her face as her eyes darted from man to man.

“...Will there be food?” she asked hesitantly, eliciting a full body laugh from both men.

“Yeah, sweetheart, there’ll be food,”

_Lewis Household - Navy Base Wisconsin - 1997_

When the next scene materialised in front of them, Darcy let out an amused snort. She heard Charles chuckle over her shoulder as they watched a skinny kid with wild hair and grease all over her face stand on a bucket and lean over the engine she was playing with on the front drive of an immaculate house surrounded by other, just as immaculate houses. She kept making disgusted noises and pulling out and replacing various parts. On one memorable occasion, she simply yanked something out, held it up to her eye and muttered ‘ _Pocket watch_?!’ in a bewildered voice before tossing it over her shoulder. Darcy jumped to the side and watched in fascination as the watch passed through Charles completely before clunking to the floor behind him.

Her attention was drawn back to the scene by the arrival of a new car, and the alarmed shout of Carl as he swept mini-her up into his arms and away from the mustang.

“Darcy Anne Lewis! What do you think you are doing?” he demanded in a panicked voice, setting her down and carefully checking over for her for nonexistent injuries.

“I’m fixing it Daddy, _duh_ ,” the child sassed back, scrunching her nose up at him before retrieving the spanner that had been dropped in the excitement.

“Darcy, baby, where did you learn to do that? And where is your dad?” He began to frantically call out for the other man as she rolled her eyes and ambled back to the car. Just as she was about to climb up onto the block she was using to be able to reach into the engine, she was lifted up again.

“Seriously, Darce - who taught you this?!”

“The book from the library,” she replied, giving him a smug smile before pointing to the Advanced Mechanics textbook sitting on the ground a couple of metres away, “And Dad had to go to work, so Louis is babysitting me,”

“Okay, sweetheart, but where is Louis  _now_?,” Her father seemed to take a moment to collect himself before asking in a very controlled voice. Waving her hand in the air carelessly she pointed towards the kitchen.

“Taking a nap - he says I exhaust him,” her smile was downright wicked as she looked up at the older man.

Running his hand over his face in defeat, he turned back to the Mustang and bumped his hip against her.

“I hate to burst your bubble kid, but not even Tony Stark could fix that old piece of junk,” At his remark, she snorted loudly and grabbed the keys from her back pocket. Jumping into the drivers seat, she jammed them in and turned the key. With a roar, the engine jumped to life. Sticking her head out the window, she grinned at him once more.

“Good thing I’m not Tony Stark then,” she yelled over the noise, and the real Darcy could hear Charles chuckle from his spot behind her. Mouthing along with the next words, Darcy let herself smile as well.

“Holy shit. My kid is a genius,”

_Lewis House - Navy Base Texas - May 2002_

__

When the next scene materialized in front of them, Darcy winced and shook her head.

“We don’t need to watch this - I remember it perfectly,” she told Charles. Shaking his head and smiling softly, he gave her a pat on the shoulder.

“I’m sorry my dear, but it doesn’t quite work like that,” he told her. Giving a resigned sigh, she turned to witness one of the worst days of her life (Pre-Hydra, that is).

“What do you mean you’re getting a divorce?” a shrill voice demanded, the young woman was shaking as she looked frantically from man to man. Darcy could remember with shocking clarity the thoughts that had been running through her head that day. _Was it all her fault? Did she do this? What would happen to her now? She knew she shouldn’t have gotten attached._

“Because, sweetheart,” Carl began gently, “We still love each other, but we’re not in love with each other any more,” Nodding along, Luke gave her arm a soft squeeze.

“It’s better this way, Darcy-Doll,” he soothed, and she broke away from them both, shaking her head frantically once more and letting out  pained cry.

“But…” she began uncertainly, tears springing to her eyes, “Where will I go?” When they both looked confused, the girl elaborated. “I don’t want to go back to that house - please don’t make me go back there! I- I’ll be good! I swear! I won’t complain about moving around all the time or living on army bases anymore. I won’t even improve any more appliances! I told you I didn’t mean to make the fridge talk! It just happened! Just… Don’t make me leave,” her voice trailed off at the end of the sentence, and Charles let out a small pained noise from behind her at the fear that was filling the room.

Luke was the first to recover, and he pulled young Darcy into a crushing hug, shaking his head fiercely.

“Oh God, sweetheart no! Why would you think we would send you away?” he asked her, pulling back enough to allow Carl to pull her into an equally fierce embrace. Burrowing her head into his neck she whispered out the words that broke the tension in the room.

“Everyone leaves,”

“Not us, darlin’” Carl promised, “We’re family - we ain’t ever leaving you behind,”

“Really?” she asked, daring to look up with a hopeful expression.

“Really really” replied Luke warmly - and that was that.

_Garcia Household - Navy Base in New Jersey - November 2005_

__

Darcy let out a choked laugh as the next scene materialized before them, a teenage girls bedroom filled with more superhero paraphernalia than was exactly reasonable wavered into focus.

“Ironic, huh?” she asked the man standing behind her as the scene blinked into focus and began to play.

A fifteen year old Darcy sat on her bed, listening to angry girl music via her walkman while she painted her toenails what appeared to be hotrod red. A moment later, a boy tumbled in through her window and plucked the headphones off of her head.

“Uh, I do have a front door, dude,” she told him, not even looking up from her artful application.

“I have a weapon that needs modifying,”  he told her solemnly, apparently this was enough to catch her attention, because she glanced up once, seemed to appraise him for a moment, and ducked her head again.

“You’ve got the wrong gal kid, sorry you wasted a climb,” she told him casually, returning to her nails.

“What? No I don’t. Word on the street is you’re a weapons genius,” he told her smugly, crossing his dark arms over his chest and grinning down at her.

“The street? This is a Navy base, buddy, not Detroit,” she snarked back, finally finishing her work and leaning back to admire the flawless application. Letting out a frustrated sigh, the boy dropped himself heavily onto her bed, making her bounce a little.

“I know it’s you - I’ve seen you making trades with other guys!” he exclaimed, and she snapped her head up to glare at him fiercely.

“Read. My. Lips,” she snarled, “Nope. N-O. You got the _wrong girl_ cowboy,”

“Why won’t you help me?!” he demanded angrily, waving his hands in front of her face to make her look at him again. Snorting inelegantly, she rolled her eyes and stood so she was towering above his sitting form.

“Well. _First_ of all - You’re underage, you’re what? Fifteen?”

“I’m _sixteen_ ,” he interrupted, all gangly limbs and righteous rage.

“Well alright, you’re sixteen. So that is extra illegal to _start_ with,  and also. You’re a legacy. As in a bona fide, honest to god, _legacy_. If I sell you an illegally modified weapon, I’m pretty sure Captain America will come back from the dead to haunt me. And _another_ thing! Your father literally runs this base,” her voice was getting more and more shrill as she paced the room, ignoring the way the boy was staring at her in fascination. “If he found out, he’d kick _my_ Dad’s out of the Navy!”

“All three of them?” he asked solemnly, laughing loudly when she lobbed a pillow at his head.

“Yes all three of them! Not to mention Carl would probably get yelled at by his scary faceless boss!”

“Well,” Trip began casually, pulling a shiny new Stark gun from his jeans waistband, “That’s a shame. This _brand new_ not even released to the public yet _Stark Weapon_ of mine will have to go unmodded…” he began slowly walking to the door as Darcy obviously warred with herself.

“Wait!” she called, stuffing her hands into her already unruly hair, “Brand new Stark Weapon?” she asked weakly, and the taller boys face split into a huge grin.

“Being a legacy sure has it’s perks,” he told her teasingly, dangling the weapon over her head. “So?” he asked her, “Will you help me, or not?”

“Fine. Fine! I’ll do it,” she grumbled, “But you better not tell anyone, legacy,”

“My name is Trip,” he told her, elbowing her in the side gently before handing her the gun.

“I know,” she muttered under her breath before turning and flopping back down onto her bed and turning her full attention on the work of art in her hands.

An hour later she was still working quietly while Trip read one of her comics when the front door slammed loudly. Her head snapped up as she stared at Trip in a panic.

“Darcy?” A voice yelled loudly, “You home?”

“Oh _shit_ ,” she whispered with feeling, “Oh shit, _oh shit, oh Shit_!” Glancing around frantically, she shoved the gun under her pillow and lamented her lack of a closet to shove Trip in. Glancing consideringly at her bed, she clearly considered shoving him under it.

“Uh,” she faltered, “I was not built for deceit,” she told him with wide eyes and he let out a dry chuckle.

Moving closer to her, he smiled gently and grabbed a lock of her hair.

“I have a plan,” he told her, glancing down and her lips and back up into her eyes before raising an eyebrow.

“Okay great what is-” she began, but he cut her off by smashing his lips to hers. To an outsider, Darcy imagined it looked chaste - but she remembered the way butterflies had erupted in her stomach. She remembered the way she completely forgot about the pretty shiny under her pillow, and the fact that it was likely a scary dude with the title ‘Dad’ was probably about to burst through the door and demand to know if she was still insisting on eating barbeque sauce on her tacos like a sinner.

A moment later, this kiss was broken when Caleb slammed the door open and raised an eyebrow at the both of them in that incredibly unnerving way of his.

“Oh, Caleb! I thought, um, I- hi,” Darcy stammered out sheepishly before pushing Trip slightly behind her.

“Incoming Luke,” he told her with a little grin, “You’ve been warned,” Moments later, Luke ran up the staircase, immediately dropping his wide grin as he saw who else was in the room. For a moment the whole house was filled with a tense silence, but then a dangerous smirk overtook his features and he slung an arms around Trip’s shoulder and led him downstairs.

“Son, have I ever told you about that time when we were under heavy fire and…”

_Malibu Cliff face - Malibu, CA - February 2007_

__

“I would just like to point out,” Darcy said loudly from where she stood in a huddle of four men in tuxedos, “That this is so weird. Like not at all normal. We may be the strangest family in America. And yes, before you ask, I’m counting people that live in Texas,” She told them all seriously, but could help but break out into a face-splitting grin when Caleb swept her off her feet in an unusual display of affection.

“Sweetheart,” Luke pointed out from where he was fixing Jake’s bowtie after Carl had messed it up, “Since when has this family been _normal_?”

“Point,” she said reasonably, before shoving Carl on the shoulder. “Welp, go on you big weirdos, go get married,” Trip chose that moment to walk up behind and wrap his arms around his waist.

“Hey,” he said amicably, “Which one of you throws the bouquet? ‘Cause I’ve got a fifty for whoever aims at this one here,” He let out a loud laugh when she elbowed him sharply in the stomach.

“Very funny, Army brat, very funny,” Carl said dryly, rolling his eyes at their antics.

“If you think I’m not carrying just cause I’m about to get married, you got another thing comin’, kid,” Luke warned.

_College Dorm - Culver University - May 2009_

__

The next scene Darcy’s brain decided to drop them into made her flinch backwards hard enough to smack into Charles’ chest. Her younger self was sitting on the bed, with her furry cat phone held to her ear crying her eyes out. Behind her, Charles let out an empathetic noise.

“What’s going on?” he asked, and Darcy sighed exasperatedly.

“Just, watch,” she said with resignation, before college Darcy started wailing even louder.

“What do you _mean_ you’re sorry but you have to? What does that even mean!?” she cried. She could hear Trip's voice drifting through the line as her younger self cried shamelessly.

"Darcy," he pleaded, "They said I had to choose - I'm so sorry," Darcy could almost see the exact moment where she went from upset to _really_ fucking pissed off.

"Choose what?!" She demanded, "Between me and the job? And you chose the fucking job?!"

"Darcy," he tried to reason, "You know this is all I ever wanted in my life. I'm a legacy. My grandparents actually founded SHIELD. It's in my _blood_ to be an agent,"

"I-" College-Darcy cut herself off with a sharp intake of breath, "I thought you loved me. You said it was you and me against the world,"

With one final useless platitude, he hung up the phone, and she hurled gets across the room with a scream before throwing herself down on the bed and breaking down in tears.

Shaking her head exasperatedly, Darcy raised an eyebrow at Charles and smirked.

"Man," she joked weakly, "does she have a rude shock coming if she thinks that is a bona fide tragedy,"

_Bar Nine Coffee Shop - Culver University - August 2011_

__

Darcy could help but grin as she was thrown into the next memory, the sight of her younger self and Jane sitting awkwardly across from each other while they sipped on shitty coffee brought the memory rushing back as the colours around them bloomed and stood out in high definition. Clearing her throat, Jane shuffled the messy array of paper in front of her and sighed, loudly.

“Well,” she began, and Darcy’s head snapped up eagerly, grinning at the smaller woman, “You are soft science - but I’m not going to lie, you were the only applicant. Which is incredibly weird-”

“ _So_ weird,” Darcy said, her eyes widening dramatically as she stared over the rim of her glasses, “So, _so_ weird,”

Nudging Charles in the side with a small smile,  she nodded at the interaction and smirked.

“I hacked into her computer and deleted the other applications,” she confessed smugly.

“I don’t believe it,” he replied dryly, returning her smile.

“Well,” Jane was saying calmly, “I guess you get the job. We start tomorrow,”

“Yes!” Darcy cried triumphantly, grinning happily at everyone around her, settling quickly, she sat back down and shrugged at Jane. “It was this or Chem304, and I _really_ hate Chem,”

“Wait a minute,” Charles said suddenly, turning to her with his face scrunched up in confusion.

“Why were you in soft science, if you’re a mechanical genius?” he asked.

“Uh, funny story, actually,” She said, scratching the back of her neck sheepishly, “You know how sometimes, when you’re good at something, so all of a sudden everyone expects you to be great?” at his nod, she smiled and continued, “And then when you get great? You’re supposed to be incredible?” He seemed to understand that she needed a moment to gather her thoughts, and she stared off into the familiar distance as he waited. “I guess I… I just didn’t know where it would end - when it would ever be… enough. If that makes sense? I started to hate doing the things I was doing - just because there was always so much _pressure_. And I didn’t want to hate it - I used to make things because I physically couldn’t stop myself. It brought me joy. I didn’t want to stand by while it became a chore. So I changed majors to something that I found interesting, but didn’t feel obliged to be a whiz kid at, and I learned things that challenged me - but in a _good_ way,”

“Did that make any sense at all?” She finally asked, giving him an uncertain look.

“It- It did, actually,” he replied quietly, and seemed to be contemplating something else as he reached a hand out. “Shall we?” he asked, and when she nodded, the world around them began shifting once more.

**  
  
**

_SHIELD Headquarters - Classified As Fuck - May 2013_

When everything stopped spinning, Darcy took in the cavernous gym equip with top of the range everything, and in the very middle of the room in an almost comical stand off stood the a version of herself she could identify with most. Opposite her stood the man who was her best friend. Not for the first time since the whirlwind re-exploration of her mind had begun, she felt a pang in her chest as she saw herself joking around, twirling with a grace that was yet to become deadly, and striking not to kill, or even to hurt.

Suddenly, the doors swung open abruptly, and a man in a billowing trench coat with an eyepatch strode in, flanked by none other than Antoine Triplett and his senior officer, John Garret. Young Darcy used Clint’s distraction to flip him through the air and onto the mats. Not wasting any time, she plonked herself down on his chest, and proceeded to make herself comfortable as the men made their way over to them.

“Director Fury, Sir,” she intoned, raising one hand in a snappy salute, “How may I help you?”

The imposing man seemed to take a moment to take their position in, before sending a pleading look heavenward. Sighing heavily, he turned his gaze back towards her, rubbing his forehead as he did so.

“I need to speak to Hawkeye,” he told her seriously, crossing his arms and levelling a look at her in a way that Darcy imagined had sent many lesser humans running for cover. As she wasn’t _quite_ normal, all she did was grin broadly and glance around innocently before pointing to the man she was currently silencing with her calf.

“Oh?” She asked, raising an eyebrow curiously, “This Hawkeye?” Clint, of course, chose this moment to begin struggling for freedom. Muffled noises that sounded suspiciously like curses made their way past her leg as she ignored him and looked upwards. When he finally raised an arm and tapped rapidly at the mat, she removed her leg and shook her head at him.

“Uh uh uhh, that’s not the word we use,” she told him, a shit eating grin stuck on her face as she teased him. His face was becoming an impressive shade of red as he glared at her.

“Don’t you dare try to make me say that right now Darcy Anne Lewis,” he spat out making desperate puppy dog eyes at her. A quiet choking noise made her look up at the group of men,  Garrett was choking down laughter, as Trip gave her an indecipherable look.

“Oh, we’re going there, huh? Clinton Francis Barton?” she asked as she turned her attention back to him. Another loud sigh drew her attention back to the director as he leveled a glare at his senior agent.

“Say the fucking word, Barton,” he commanded, and Clint let his head drop back to the mat in defeat before whispering an indecipherable word.

“I don’t know about you boys,” Garrett broke in, “But I didn’t _quite_ catch that,” At that, Clint muttered something that sounded suspiciously like a threat before scrunching his eyes shut and speaking at the same volume as someone who’d just been to a rock concert.

“ _Poppycock_ ,”

The room was silent for approximately three seconds before Garrett burst into laughter and Darcy rolled to her feet, making a face at Clint as he slapped her proffered hand out of the way. Fury’s booming voice rose above the din as Clint levered himself to his feet, mumbling the whole way.

“I like it better when people fear me,” he said, and if Darcy was a lesser woman, she might have shrunk away from his glare. “Why don’t you fear me?” he sounded almost plaintive.

“Well,” Darcy said, “I was raised by three Navy seals, and a CIA operative. I have a pretty skewed definition of scary,” Sighing loudly, he nodded in agreement before nodding towards the door.

“Regardless, I have to talk to Barton now,” When she made no move to leave, he cocked an eyebrow, “In private, Agent,”

“Sir, Yes Sir!” She cried again, snapping a final salute before turning swiftly and marching from the room, ruffling Clint’s hair on her way past - and if she _maybe_ swayed her hips a little to show Trip exactly what he’d thrown away, well, who was going to judge her? The last thing Darcy heard before the memory faded away was Garrett's booming voice.

“I like her,”

_Safe House - New Mexico - One Week after ‘The Incident with Those SHIELD assholes’_

__

The first thing Darcy heard when the next scene materialized was a loud whine.

“Buck- _eee_ ,” she felt her heart thump in her chest as a man in soft looking grey sweatpants with a metal arm rounded the corner with a fond smile and raised an eyebrow at memory-her.

“ _James_ ,” she whispered, the only thing stopping her from stepping forwards was Charles grip on her shoulder as she watched the scene play out.

“What now? Hm, princess?” he joked, sliding a hand into her hair and gently moving it off her face.

“I need sustenance! Feed me Seymor!” she exclaimed imperiously from her spot on the couch, nursing a hand in a very macgyver-eske brace. Sighing loudly, he drew himself away from her and headed for the kitchen.

“I don’t even understand that reference,” he told her, before turning and raising an eyebrow, “And I would like to point out there is nothing wrong with your _feet_ ,” Pouting, if she may say so herself, quite adorably, she made a big show of rising.

“Well,” she grunted, “If you insi-” before she could even finish her sentence, he was there, mother henning her back into a horizontal position and mock glaring at her.

“Just as bad as Steve, I swear ‘ta God,” he grumbled, tucking the blanket that had fallen away around her again and shaking his head, “I hate when you call my bluff,”

“Psht,” she joked, “You love me. Now come here and snuggle,” she made grabby hands at him until he relented, and watching over the scene, Darcy felt more at peace - more whole, than she had since the day she’d been taken.

Instead of wavering, like she expected it to, the scene stayed vivid as she snuggled into him and let him fuss over her non-serumed body.

“This memory is stronger than the rest,” Charles told her, cocking his head at her curiously, “It is strange, your mind is still muddled and confused, but your love for him is strong and true regardless,”

“I didn’t mean to fall in love,” she told him on autopilot, barely seeming to consider her words before they spilled from her mouth, “Not at all. He was so broken, I was so confused. I just wanted to do some good, you know? But at some point, he smiled, and holy shit - I blew it,”

“I know the feeling,” he murmured quietly, before the room around them changed, the energy turning sour.

_Alpha Facility - Sleeping Quarters - June 2014_

__

The room the ended up in was pitch black, but suddenly, the air was crackling with static electricity as a girl in the middle of the room sat up with a strangled scream. Darcy watched on, barely recognizing herself as her hands flew through tangled hair and she muttered to herself.

“Oh god,” she finally whispered, “Oh shit,” Rolling out of bed, she quickly went about yanking on clothes, she began packing a bag, and within a few minutes, was headed for the door she absolutely wasn’t to touch.

Just as she was about to turn into the corridor that held her freedom, a familiar figure appeared.

“Wanda,” her voice was icy cold as she addressed the other woman, “Move,” if there had been any mistake about it being an order, the loud crackle of electricity dancing through the air left no room for argument. And yet, the other girl still didn’t budge.

“Darcy,” she spoke, her voice was deceptively soft as she began working her magic, “We’ve been over this,” her tone remained gentle as she took a small step towards her, tendrils of red danced from her fingertips as the two faced off. “We need you to end the Avengers,”

Darcy could see that the magic was taking it’s toll, but in the memory, she was clearly fighting the urge to give in.

“I don’t - I don’t _want_ to end the Avengers. They’re my friends,” she choked out, clenching her fists and trembling visibly as she fought with the cloud that was overcoming her brain.

“I don’t want to,” she muttered under her breath, “James, James, James, his name is James. He has a name. He’s a person, he loves me, so I must be too,” at this she looked imploringly at Wanda, “He needs me - I, I need him. Don’t take him away again,” her voice cracked as she dropped to her knees, finally heeding to the mental control.

“No, my little dove,” Wanda told her, gently caressing her head and preparing to unravel the progress she’d made, “You don’t,”

Darcy can feel Charles’ fingers digging into her shoulder as the screaming starts, it’s funny, how you notice so much more the second time around. She never before noticed the tears streaming freely down the other girls face, or the way Pietro paled even further than his already unhealthy palour at the broken pleas for someone, anyone, please help her. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and unwillingly, Darcy found herself wondering if she was the only one who’s hand was being forced in that facility.

_Alpha Facility - Sleeping Quarters - July 2014_

__

The room that next materialized was familiar and dark as the scene set itself. It was empty, save for the brunette who was huddled in the corner, staring blankly into space - no doubt wondering why the hell she felt so goddamn  _empty_. All of a sudden, clear voices filled the room, a product of her super-human hearing.

“I _know_ I volunteered for this Baron - I know! But, she did not. She did not volunteer, and this fight is not hers to win. And every time I see that horrible betrayed look on her face when I have to take away all that she holds dear, it _hurts_ even more,” If she cared to notice, Darcy would see the girl curl in upon herself, an action that she found herself subconsciously mirroring as it all came back.

“I volunteered. I _believe_ in what we are doing. But she does not. She has a family, she loves, and in turn, she herself is loved. Who am I to take that from her? Does it not make me just as much of a monster as Stark if I continue to do this?”

“Listen to me, _girl_ ,” a voice snarled, and Darcy clenched her fists tightly to repress the shiver that the sound forced upon her, “If you so much as think about releasing her, or helping her in any way, I will hurt you in ways you cannot fathom,” The promise in his words finally spurred her younger self into action.

“Holy shit,” she whispered, wrapping her arms tighter around herself and rocking slightly.

“Oh Darcy,” Pietro appeared in the dim light of the doorway, “I really wish you had not heard that,”

_Cerebro - Upstate NY - Present Day_

__

As he released his hold on her shoulder, Darcy stumbled away and dropped to her knees on the catwalk. Crouching in front of her, he gently raised her chin so she had to look him in the eye.

“How do you feel?” he asked, examining her face for any sign of shock.

“I… I remember _everything_ ,” she whispered quietly, sitting back heavily. Just as she fell backwards, a deafening crash sounded from above them, and they both snapped into high alert. Remy burst into the room, his leather coat was flapping madly behind him as she skidded to a halt.

“The Avengers are here,” he gasped out, “And they are _pissed_ ,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I know I took a long time to post this, but I kind of feel like it is the shittiest chapter I've posted yet, and I've been dragging major feet bc of this. Please feel free to point out any mistakes/ plot holes - this is a fucking complicated story OK. 
> 
> Any comments w/ constructive criticism would be met with gratitude and virtual love


	7. We're All a Little Mad Here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO I UPDATED SORT OF QUICKISH AGAIN. I just want to say thankyou sooo much to everyone who was so nice about that last chapter, I guess i was just having one of those days, and it meant a lot how kind you all were

_Stark Tower - New York City - A Few Hours Earlier_

Natasha Romanov knows that she is not a good person, she has done things that she may never atone for, she has hurt people that did not deserve it, hell, she has murdered just for the sake of it - for the thrill of using her skills, for the thrill of feeling powerful. In short, she has many regrets, but doing what was necessary to get the information to bring back Yasha’s love out of the incessant little German man, would never be one of them.

 

When she walked into the common area of the Avengers tower, wiping blood from her favorite blade, she couldn’t help but smirk at the team assembled before her.

“Let’s go get the girl,”

 

\-----------

 

Bucky did not have his hopes up. No Siree, not even a little. Sure, the information that the scientist had provided was helpful, and knowing who Darcy was travelling with, and just how one could track their very specific energy signals made things a little easier. But he wasn’t excited. It could turn up nothing, like the last thousand leads that ended in nothing but pain and an empty bottle of vodka.

 

He was on autopilot as he watched over Tony entering data into a computer at a rate faster than he could comprehend, he was barely aware of anything, and at the same time, hyper-aware of everything. He didn’t flinch when Clint came and stood stoically beside him.

“We’ll get her this time,” he said, and Bucky wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince, but appreciated the sentiment anyway.

 

When Natasha came and stood on his other side, he felt a little stronger at the show of solidarity. This was their way of saying that no matter what happened, he wasn’t alone. He would live to fight another day, to claw his way a little closer to his goal, and he wouldn’t be put away - alone and shivering, at the end of the day. He would have a team, a family.

 

“He said she kept remembering, and they couldn’t figure out why,” she said suddenly, and the only sign that he gave that he was paying attention was a miniscule eyebrow raise.

“Not big things,” she elaborated, “She would remember your face, or something you’d said. All the love she’s felt in her life, and you’re what stuck,” turning fully to face him she stared hard, “When you meet a person who makes you feel like that? You don’t let go. Trust me,” with her piece said, she marched off to assist Tony with the technical side of things and left Bucky daring to hope, even a little, for the first time in weeks that he would be able to get his girl back.

 

————————

 

It was ten minutes before Tony made a triumphant noise and dramatically pulled up some grainy footage on the hover screen. Typing furiously, it only took him a moment to achieve clarity and clean up the image as he announced a highway patrol camera had captured the exchange.

 

Bucky's breath caught in his throat as he saw Darcy pull herself out of the window and perch precariously in the speeding car. Client muttered something about sloppy aim as a few rounds went wide, but he could see the exact moment she concentrated, her aim turned deadly as she let off one precise shot to the front tire that flipped the whole vehicle. The last thing he saw before the car sped out of range was her arms raising in victory and a huge, gloating grin gracing her face.

 

"I think she's gonna be just fine," Clint remarked dryly as Stark began rattling off the current location of the group.

 

————————

 

Minutes later, they were all geared up and heading for the Quintet when Jane grabbed him by the arm and pulled him aside.

"Bring her home," she told him quietly, and he saw the rage that he felt dancing under his skin burning in her eyes, he gave her a curt nod before stalking up the ramp and shutting the door. All around him, the team were on the process of assembling their various weapons.

 

Bruce was reading from a very thin file that contained all they knew about Darcy's dangerous new friends, and Bucky wasn't sure if he was jealous or proud of the way she seemed to attract the most lethal people in her general vicinity at any given time. He wasn't even aware he'd shared the sentiment out loud until Tony snorted loudly and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry tin man, I'm sure you'll get the trophy when you show up and go all Liam Neeson on their collective asses,"

 

"As I was _saying_ ," Bruce interrupted, giving them a meaningful look, "The other one, known as the Gambler,"

"Gambit," Natasha countered quietly, studiously ignoring the way everybody's heads snapped towards her as she arranged her Widow's bites just so on her catsuit.

"...I beg your pardon?" Bruce asked hesitantly.

"His name," she clarified, turning her unnervingly blank stare on him, "Is Gambit, not Gambler. It's only gambling if you don't know you're going to win - and he always does,"

"Not this time he doesn't," Bucky promised, his voice was low with warning as his metal arm whirred into gear. "Not if he tries to keep me from her,"

 

Thor, who had been solemnly passing his hammer from hand to hand, paused in his, albeit regal, fidgeting to lay a hand on Bucky's shoulder.

"James, you are my shield brother, and a dear friend," he began gravely, "and I do not wish to see you disappointed. We do not yet know the state of mind that the Lady Darcy is in. It could very well be that the only person she will need saving from today is on this aircraft," Shrugging the larger man's hand off of him, he retreated a few steps, wrapping his arms around himself.

"She remembered me, even when it almost cost her her sanity. That's gotta mean something,"

Thor smiled softly and nodded.

"For your sake, I hope that it does,"

"Enough with the sappy shit, boys," Clint commanded, and his voice was all business as he began setting the Quinjet down in the grass in front of a large mansion, "Let's go to work,"

 

————————

 

James was the first one down the ramp once they'd opened, and seconds later he was kicking the heavy double doors open with weapons in both hands, ready to strike the first thing that came between him and his mission - fuck, no. His girl. The first thing that came between him and his girl. Of the many things he'd expected to see upon entry, a blue woman and a man with a metal bucket on his head were not amongst the list.

 

"What the fu-" Clint began saying, he never got to finish his sentence however, as the two strange characters jumped into action. Bucket head seemed to do something strange with his hands, and all of a sudden Bucky was pinned to the wall, thrashing like a wild animal. Tony was ever so slowly creeping forwards, and a heavy stream of curse words was tumbling through the Comms as he described a strong force pushing him back. The rest of the team were subdued by their very own guns as they whipped away and hovered in front of them.

 

"You shall not take who you are here for," Bucket head said calmly, and blue girl rolled her eyes in disgust and snorted. Clint also noticed the hairy man from the file sitting with a glowering black cat on his lap and the flap of a leather coat as someone disappeared down the hall. Knowing who it belonged to, he gave Nat a sympathetic look before turning his full attention to the nut jobs at hand.

"Why do you even give a shit, Eric?" Blue girl demanded haughtily.

"Yeah, Eric, why _do_ you give a shit?" Tony asked, and to his credit, you couldn't actually tell he was fighting a telling physical battle against the weight of his own suit.

"She is a mutant, and we don't abandon our own Raven, you know that," Bucket head chastised, and Bucky let out a feral growl.

"Call her that one more time 'n I'll call you dead," he threatened lowly, the intent in his voice chilled everyone in the room for a moment.

 

Apparently, Blue Girl didn't appreciate the threat against her male suitor, and immediately set out in an impressive array of acrobatic moves to kick her foot against his throat. Just before she could connect, his metal hand shot up, and he twisted her leg before shoving her back across the room.

"Arm 'snot metal," he informed them impishly before drawing a deadly looking dark knife and advancing on Bucket Head with a murderous glare.

"Now you listen-" his threat was cut off by the sound of a door shutting loudly, and in slow motion, everyone turned to see a newcomer enter.

"Bucky?"

  
  


_Cerebro - Upstate NY - Moments Earlier_

“They’re - They came for me?” Darcy asked, her voice shook as she struggled to stand. “They’re _here_?” At this, another loud bang sounded upstairs, and somebody cursed loudly.

“What do you think Chere?” Remy asked with a surprisingly grin smile. “Well? What are you waiting for? Go to them,” he encouraged, and in that moment, she _felt_. It was odd, she mused, how _feeling_ was different from _remembering_. But it was, and she found herself clutching at her chest, in awe of the warmth that was spreading there. A warmth that she hadn’t realised was missing, not until it was back again. Along with an overwhelming desire to go and kiss the socks off of the man she loved, and hug the crap out of the rest of her legion of misfits. Even Clint. Maybe even _especially_ Clint.

 

Staggering forwards and waving off Charles aborted attempt to steady her, she half ran, half limped, her exhausted body to the lift that would take her back to them. Although, when she got to the doors, some part of her hesitated.

“What if…” she asked quietly, “What if I’ve changed too much? What if it’s not the same?” she turned her pleading stare to Remy. “I don’t think I can lose them again because of… because of what I’ve become,” Smiling ruefully, he clapped his hand on her shoulder and shoved her lightly through the doors.

“Of course it won’t be the same Chere, but who’s to say it won’t be better?” he asked blithely, and she cocked her head at him.

“Was it better for you? With the woman who broke your heart?” she asked, and perhaps it was petty, or cruel, but she was so _fucking_ afraid of them taking one look into her pale new eyes and backing away.

“Not always,” he said softly before tilting his head to look upwards, “But that doesn’t mean she wasn’t worth it,” At his final words, Darcy nodded and hit the button that would take her back to her family.

 

When the doors slid open, Darcy was certain she would be able to feel the tension in the room, even without her newfound powers. As she stumbled around the corner, the scene that filled the room took her breath away. Bucky was standing right in the middle, glaring defiantly at a man who had three guns pointed at his head. He had a wicked knife in his hand that Darcy remembered - and wasn’t that  a novel experience - and she couldn’t help but speak over him as she let the door shut loudly behind her.

“...Bucky?”

 

When she spoke, everyone in the room seemed to freeze, and with a flick of her wrist, Eric’s control over her friends, her _family_ , was broken. And she spoke mechanically, without ever breaking eye contact with the man who had inspired her to _live_ , even when she couldn’t remember who he was.

“Eric, I thought I told you to play nice,” At that, Luke Skywalker leapt out of Logan’s arms, and made the hasty run to his favourite spot on her shoulder, glowering angrily at everyone who had even thought of interrupting the reunion between the two who were slowly gravitating towards each other. Darcy was dimly aware of Bucky carelessly dropping the knife, and of the energy swirling around the room in her emotional state.

 

“See you’ve replaced me, doll,” he said quietly, eyes flickering to Luke quickly before returning to her face. He was intently searching desperately for something Darcy _really_ fucking hoped he’d find. She was prepared for him to flinch away from her, to avert his gaze from her eerie stare. But he didn’t.

“Never,” she replied sincerely, and then she kissed him. She didn’t even notice Luke Skywalker’s indignant yowl as he abandoned ship, or Tony’s noise of over-exaggerated disgust. All she noticed was the feeling of Bucky’s arms as he wrapped them so tightly around her that she couldn’t even tell where he ended and she began as he lifted her clear off the ground. When he finally broke away, she buried her face in his neck, and studiously ignored the tears streaming from her eyes.

“I thought I’d lost you for good,” he whispered brokenly into her hair, and she shook her head vigorously.

“Nah,” she replied lightly, choking a little on the rusty chuckle that came out, “Y’ can’t get rid of me that easy,” she teased lightly, and the crooked smile that he gave her in that moment would comfort her in difficult times for years to come.   
“Good,” he said with finality, before Clint cleared his throat loudly from behind her, and raised an imperious eyebrow when she shifted in Bucky’s unrelenting grip.

 

He looked like he was about to bust out a witty one liner, but before he could, Darcy flung herself at him and pulled him into the fiercest hug she could muster. When asked in the future, Clint would insist that the choked off noise that came from the back of his throat was the air leaving his lungs at the vicious attack from the pain in his ass known most commonly as Lewis, and not - not a sob of relief at having his best friend back.

“I missed you,” she confessed into his purple kevlar vest, and he smiled into her hair and nodded.

“Prank wars ain’t the same when you’re not around,” he told her, and flinched violently when she shocked him lightly, putting her hands on her hips and mock glaring at him.

“Aw hell, Darce, I missed you too,”

 

As Charles moved forwards to introduce himself to the rest of the group and hopefully neutralize Eric and Raven, who were standing in the corner and regarding their reunion with expressions of distaste, Darcy turned back to Bucky. She could practically see his energy. It was dancing with relief, and happiness and a whole bunch of other things that Darcy couldn’t name, but could definately _feel_.

“So,” she said, a little breathlessly as he took another step towards her, so that they were toe to toe, their breaths mingling together. “I don’t know if you can reasonably be labelled the most messed up one in this relationship anymore,” Shaking his head slowly, he reached a hand up and cupped her jaw, stroking lightly along her pulse. She reached her hand up and covered his before he could respond, looking down at her feet before flicking her gaze back to him. “I don’t know if anyone told you, but they kind of-” she had to stop speaking to breathe noisily for a moment, “They kind of broke me,” her voice cracked and he immediately cradled her closer to him, shaking his head and making soothing nonsense noises at her. “And I’ll understand if you want to - I mean if it’s easier to just-”

“Let me stop you right there,” he said firmly, leaning his forehead against hers, “While you were- gone - I was, I wasn’t whole. And I know that it’s not fair to put that on you, but - _Jesus_ Darcy. When you’re _gone_ , I feel like I can’t breathe. When I didn’t know if you were-” Taking a deep breath, he shook his head lightly, “I can’t lose you again. Not because of them. Don’t let them have that,” he pleaded, and she looked up at him hesitantly.

“It doesn’t bother you?” she asked, “What they - made me into?” Huffing out a dry laugh, he cocked an eyebrow at her.

“Doll, don’t cha think that’d be awfully hypocritical of me?”

“Soldier #2’s got a point,” Stark pointed out breezily from where he was standing with Luke Skywalker in his arms, “I mean, we’re all a little mad here,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TA DAAA! I mean, that wasn't the end of this story, and I'm afraid it's prolly going to get painful again before it ends (Is there anything that isn't angst?!) But for now: YAY REUNION. 
> 
> I would love your thoughts on it, I'm not entirely happy with the ending, but eventually I was like , Fuck it. Do you guys think I did it justice? I wanted to pay a little more attention to the others, but like Darcy, I kind of had a Bucky Barnes shaped tunnel vision thing going. 
> 
> Also: Headcannon, Luke Skywalker only tolerates three people: Darcy, Logan(God only knows why, Logan fucking hates cats) , and Tony. James is on his shit list because he makes his Darcy all swoony and heart eyed. Luke Skywalker does not do heart eyes. Except when catnip is involved.


	8. Soul Sisters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um, so hi! I know it's been a while (Nearly a year - I am a terrible person) And I'm sure many of you have moved on with your lives, but I do have a clear plan for this story now, and despite the fact that I am currently working and studying full time I'm fairly confident that I will be able to update on a more frequent basis then I have been (not hard) 
> 
> I would just like to quickly thank a few individuals, I'm not sure how to tag people so they definitely see something on here (Can you do that?!) so I will just pop their names below. These people left comments that really helped me get into writing mode, and inspired me to keep going even when it felt like everything I was coming up with sucked
> 
> warriorofthewind_Libra928, Soclose137, Lady_Layla, ChrissiHR, Liebekatze, and the countless others that have left their love - and of course those who left Kudos as well! 
> 
> On that note, please enjoy the below garbage writing (Sorry I just wanted to throw it out there and stop trying to edit, so if you spot any errors please let me know)

“I mean, we’re all a little mad here,”

 

Tony’s statement broke the considerable tension in the room, Sam snorted loudly, and Natasha rolled her eyes in his general direction before turning her laser focus pointedly anywhere  _ but  _ Remy. If Darcy noticed the same pain emanating from her that she felt in Remy, well, she kept it to herself.

 

“Speak for yourself, Stark. I for one, am perfectly sane,” countered Deadpool as he waltzed through the front door, giving Darcy a cheeky wave. “Glad to see you’ve been keepin’ busy sweetheart, but if I’d known you were recruiting mutants to be your loyal followers, I would have volunteered before  _ this  _ clown,” he gestured at Magneto, who was restrained by a blue hand smacking him around the back of the head.

 

Shaking her head and laughing, she sent a shaky grin in his direction. 

“Don’t worry Wade, I’m always looking for a good Girl Friday,” she countered.

“Can’t promise about the good… or the girl,” he said, grinning through the mask, “But I do a mean Friday, I’ll show you sometime,” After a pointed glare from Bucky, he raised both hands and took a step back. “Uh, maybe not. Well, I’m off now, I’ve got my own franchise to star in, and none of you are invited!” He called as he turned and waltzed out the door, muttering something about foxes and budget cuts. 

 

A moment of silence followed before Tony cleared his throat. 

“Well that was as weird as it always is,” he announced cheerfully before turning to the pair still holding onto each other for dear life.

“Glad you’re alive kid,” he told Darcy with a genuine smile, before something flashed in his eyes and he began stammering, “Not that - Not that you’re  _ my  _ kid, ha ha, it’s just a saying. An expression, if you will. You have parents. Multiple. Many. None of which include me,” By this stage, he had a hand behind his neck and was nearing full panic mode. “Anyways! Gotta go now, party to plan, other damsels to save, probably. Bye!” And with that, his faceplate slammed down and he zoomed out the front door.

 

“Huh,” Darcy remarked a moment after the dust settled, she looked over at Charles and he raised an eyebrow. 

“Indeed,” he replied thoughtfully. 

“I have no idea what’s going on,” Clint volunteered helpfully, grinning at her as she returned the smile fondly, noticing for the first time the complicated weave of purple surrounding her best friend. 

“You never do,” she told him, tugging Bucky towards the door and nodding her head at Charles as she went. “I owe you my life,” she told him, “If you ever need anything, you’ll know how to find me,” He nodded sagely and smiled.

“Best wishes, Darcy Lewis,” he told her. Remy was next to step up to her, smiling gently and clapping a hand on her shoulder. 

“Remember what I told you chere,” he said softly, glancing sideways where the Widow was hovering and avoiding eye contact. “Sometimes the things that are the hardest are the ones that mean the most,” with that he let her go and sent one last sad smile in Natasha’s direction before turning with a flap of his coat and striding out the door and down the path Wade went.

“Take care, Bub,” Logan grunted as he followed in his friends path. Grinning at his surly goodbye, Darcy quickly used her powers to tear the edge of his shirt a little. 

“Get a shirt that fits!” She yelled out after him, laughing as he shot her the finger over his shoulder.

 

“C’mon Doll,” Bucky said, throwing his arm around her shoulder, “Let’s get you home now,”

Shaking her head slightly, Darcy smiled up at him with a mixture of awe and confusion.

“What?” He asked, squeezing her closer to him. 

“Nothing, it’s just - ‘Home’. Weird concept now, y’know?” Leaning in close, he brushed his nose against the spot above her ear.

“Gets less weird when you have someone to share it with, or so I’ve been told,” 

 

Just as they were passing through the threshold, Darcy caught sight of a familiar face standing by the quinjet.

“Thor!” She called delightedly, breaking free of Bucky to run towards him, but stopping just short when she saw the look on his face. “...Thor?” She asked uncertainly, cocking her head in confusion. When she realised he was staring at her eyes with apprehension, she quickly averted them.

“Oh…  _ Oh _ . Yeah, they take some getting used to, I guess. The whole, soulless silver of it all,” she mumbled, fiddling with the edge of the button down she wore. 

“Is that how you feel, Lady Darcy?” He asked gravely, and she felt the concern and a touch of fear emanating from him. 

“Huh?” She asked, finally turning her gaze back to a man she once considered a close friend.

“Soulless?” He prompted her, and she suddenly understood. He thought she was a monster, an abomination. When she really concentrated, she could feel it coming off him in waves. His distaste for what she had become, what had happened to her. It was so powerful she took a step back and ran into something solid. Her vision was hazy from… tears? No. That couldn’t be right. She didn’t cry. Assets did not cry. It was the first thing she was taught as a child… except - no. It wasn’t. Because she wasn’t an asset, she was -

 

“Darcy?  _ Darcy? _ Dammit Thor! You get the hell away from her or I swear to god-” As her mind struggled back into focus she heard Bucky growling ferociously at the larger man.

“Sorry, shit. Sorry. The memories,” She gasped, putting a hand out and grasping onto Bucky’s bicep for support. “There’s - a lot. Going on up there at the moment. Y’know, with the mind control of it all,” She was silenced by Bucky kissing her fiercely.

“ _ No _ . Don’t you ever apologize for that. That was not your fault, you hear me doll?”

 

“I - um, yeah,” she stuttered, bringing her hands up to clutch at her head and pull frantically at her hair.

“Hey,  _ hey _ , he didn’t mean it doll. He knows you have a soul. You’re Darcy, you’re my Darcy,”

“Yes he  _ did _ ,” She gasped, “I can feel it. I can feel-”

“You should not be able to read me,” Thor interrupted, looking disturbed, “No mortal should be able to see into my soul, it is far too complex-” Letting out a derisive snort, Darcy turned back to the man she knew she once considered family and cut him off mid-sentence.

“Right now you’re feeling three things; Sorrow, for the loss of your sister; Concern, for your Lady Jane and how she’ll feel when she finds out what I’ve become; and fear, because you know your bullshit superior defence system doesn’t work on me,”

 

A moment of shocked silence followed her declaration, Bucky slid his hand down until it tangled with hers, and she felt solidarity coming off him in waves. In her anger, she could also feel static electricity dancing up and down her arms, a knee-jerk reaction to any situation that felt threatening. 

 

Natasha came slowly to stand in front of her, reaching up cautiously and touching her face.

“Darcy,” she said, “Darcy, I want you to focus on me, what do I feel?” she asked.

“You feel -” Darcy paused in confusion, “Nothing, you don’t - I can’t,”

“Try harder,” Natasha told her patiently. Shifting on her feet and pulling away from James, she reached up and placed her palms on either side of Natasha’s face.

 

As she breathed in and out, she felt the static dissipate, and she began to get bits and pieces of what Natasha was giving off. She had the distinct feeling that she wasn’t receiving any information that wasn’t being willingly given.

“Calm,” she said at last, “You feel calm, and you know. You know that I don’t want to hurt any of you. You’re not afraid of me,” Nodding, Natasha smiled at her, slowly drawing away. Before she could fully recede, Darcy grabbed her hand and leant in to whisper something. “That loss, he feels it too. You’re not alone in your pain,” 

 

Stepping back fully, she turned to Bucky again with a slight grin tinged with exhaustion.

“You mentioned something about a home? As much as I would love to continue the drama, I’ve had kind of an tiring day,” 

“Anything you want, doll,” he told her, drawing her into his arms again for a second before leading her towards the Quinjet. She heard Thor quietly talking to Steve behind them for a second before the telltale sound of his Hammer launching him into the air came. For the moment though, she let that drop away and focused on the feeling of desperate relief and contentment radiating from the man next to her.

 

_ Stark Tower - New York City - Later That Day _

 

When the quinjet landed, Darcy tried her hardest to not stare around in wonder at all of the amazing electronics and gadgets that were everywhere. 

“I want you to know that your arm is still, barely, my favourite shiny thing,” she breathed, looking at James with a grin before turning in a slow circle, “That being said,  _ Woah _ ,” 

“Thanks,” Tony said as he breezed past her, obviously preening at her amazement of his lair,

“I’ve been calling it the Iron Cave,”

“No he hasn’t,” Clint countered as he walked past with his bow strapped to his back.

“Mostly because we won’t let him,” a new voice added, and Darcy turned to see Pepper Potts standing in the door in 6 inch Louboutins and a power suit with a serene look on her face. “Welcome home, Darcy, I’ve waited a long time to finally meet you,” 

 

Smiling shyly, Darcy went to extend her hand to shake before she thought better of it, not wanting to make the other woman feel like she had to touch her. As if she sensed her hesitation Pepper strode forwards, holding her hand out with a professional smile that made Darcy feel like she was just another person. Feeling incredibly grateful, she reached out and shook the other womans hand with a small smile.

“It’s nice to be met,” she said confidently before what she said registered and she began to stammer. “I mean, it’s nice to meet you. Not that other thing. You’re really cool. I wrote my thesis on you and the way you changed the way the world looks at Stark industries. Um, I’m going to shut up now before I say anything else embarrassing. Ok. Shutting up in three… two… one,”

 

“The resemblance is uncanny,” the other woman muttered, radiating amusement before that feeling turned to affection as she breezed past Tony with a kiss to the  head on her way to the door. 

“I hope to meet you again soon, Darcy Lewis,” she said with a smile as she backed out of the room and into the elevator. 

 

Darcy was aware of James approaching her again as soon as he began to move, she was finding that she was incredibly attuned to his individual signature, every move he made she could feel, somewhere down in her gut. Turning to face him, she smiled tiredly. 

“So, Soldier,” she began conservationally, “This home of yours got a bed?” The grin that the question pulled out of him nearly blinded her, as he pulled her into him and nuzzled her hair.

“For you doll? Always,” he rumbled from his spot snuggled into her, and she grinned into his chest in answer.

“Smooth talker,” she accused lightly before turning and seeing Natasha sitting on the bench nearby and smiling slightly at the pair of them.

 

Behind her, James stiffened, and his mood immediately changed from at ease to tense.

“Not yet, Tasha,” he warned, “Let her get some sleep, she’s exerted herself enough for the day,”

“Umm,” Darcy interrupted, glancing between the pair, “‘She’ would like to know what the hell is going on, if that’s okay with you,”

“We need to debrief,” Natasha said matter-of-factly, “Before you start forgetting the small things that could help us take out the men that did this to you,” 

“No,” James growled, subconsciously pulling her closer to him as he did so. “This isn’t the Red Room Tasha, we can afford to give her a little time to recover before you grill her,”

“I get that you are too close to this to see why it has to be right now, but if she were anyone else, you would be in there already asking away,” she shot back, rising gracefully to her feet.

 

Growing tired of being talked over, Darcy stepped out of James arms and turned so she could glare at both of them at the same time. When they continued to bicker, she crossed her arms and used her powers to push something off of a bench nearby to get their attention. 

“Hey!” Tony complained from where he was working on something in the corner, “That was expensive,” 

 

“So build another one,” she replied, not taking her eyes off the two who had been stunned into silence. “Do I have your attention now?” she asked patiently.

“How did you -” Natasha began to ask before thinking better of it and shutting up. 

“I have all sorts of tricks up my sleeve,” Darcy replied dryly, thinking that knocking something off of a bench for attention like a goddamn cat was the least of them.

 

“Where are we doing this debrief?” she asked, instead of voicing that thought.

“Darce-” James began, but she shook her head at him and turned to Natasha with a raised eyebrow.

“Well?”

“Follow me,” Natasha sighed, heading towards the elevator with Darcy and James close behind. 

 

When they got to the interrogation room after a very tense elevator ride during which James was stonily silent and glaring at Natasha whilst standing as close to Darcy as possible, Natasha was looking studiously at her tablet and ignoring them, and Darcy was slightly grumpy and exasperated at her boyfriend(who she wasn’t even sure  _ was _ her boyfriend - was that the right word?)’s caveman behaviour.

 

When they got to the room he refused to sit outside as a silent party. When Natasha tried to argue, he glared stonily at her and gripped her hand so hard in his flesh and blood one so hard she was afraid hers might break. She understood his hesitance, though, she didn’t want him to leave her sight either, just in case he didn’t come back. After the two spies glared at eachother for a moment, Natasha seemed to relent, and pushed the door open for the two of them.

 

When they first sat down, Natasha started out slow and easy. Where were you kept? Who were you with? Why did they want to keep you controlled? Darcy answered all of her questions as best as she could, and then they started getting more difficult.

 

“What did you think of Wanda and Pietro?” she asked calmly, and Darcy glanced up at her abruptly.

“Why does that matter?” she asked, not understanding the question or the reasoning behind it.

“Just answer the question please, Darcy,” she replied calmly.

“I - I don’t know. I think they were assholes who assisted in my capture and brainwashing,” she replied, glaring fiercely at the table and trying not to think of the heartbreak she could clearly remember on Wanda’s face.

“Darcy,” she heard a reprimanding note in the Widow’s voice, and her hackles rose a little at the threat. Because she  _ was _ talking to the Widow now, Natasha was gone. Bucky must have sensed her unease, because he squeezed her hand a little in reassurance. “This won’t work if you’re not honest with me,”

“I  _ am  _ being honest!” Darcy exclaimed hotly, “every time I felt a  _ shred _ of hope in that god forsaken place of getting out, they extinguished it,” That much was true, what she wasn’t saying was that she was beginning to think there may have been more to the story. 

 

“Okay,” Natasha was back again, and she smiled placatingly, “let’s move to something easier,” Blowing out a relieved breath, Darcy nodded her assent. “What did your daily schedule consist of?” Nodding to herself, Darcy began to speak. This she could do.

“Well, in the morning, I would wake at approximately 6AM every day, if the alarm clock on my bedside was correct,” she began, not sharing that she would usually wake to Wanda sneaking her in some coffee, despite the fact that she knew she wasn’t supposed to because it messed with her concentration, “Then we had breakfast,” During which she would usually bicker with Pietro over who had eaten the last poptart, “After that we trained, usually for about four or five hours,” she didn’t bring up how she used to get frustrated with her lack of progress, and Wanda would reassure her with kind smiles, while Pietro would annoy a laugh out of her. 

 

“Then came lunch,” Pietro always made sandwiches with too much jelly, but nobody ever complained about his sweet tooth. “After that, a few more hours of training. I’m still working on,” she waved the hand that wasn’t captured by Bucky’s at herself “the whole control when I’m emotional thing, so we played on that,”

“How so?” Natasha asked, cocking her head at her. Smiling softly to herself, Darcy shrugged.

“Usually Pietro would annoy me until I got really pissed off, and then Wanda would make me concentrate on something small that only required a small amount of power, so I had to learn to tone it back,”

 

“Sounds like they were an integral part of your day to day life - the twins, that is,” Natasha observed, taking some more notes on her tablet.

“Yeah,” Darcy agreed, slumping in her chair, “That’s kind of how Stockholm Syndrome works,”  

“You think they were just acting like they liked you to gain your trust?” the Widow asked, cocking her head to the side and staring intently.

“Well, I don’t think they kidnapped and brainwashed me for the express purpose of becoming my friends,” she retorted hotly, “I mean, there are far less complicated ways to get there, coffee for instance,” 

 

Natasha was silent for a moment longer before shuffling her pages and pulling out a report and looking back up her with a grim expression.

“Alright, then I’ll be needing to ask you about the time before you were with the twins. Feeling her whole body going cold, Darcy nodded slowly and took a deep breath. She tried to focus on the man sitting to her right to ground herself, but she could feel the hint of panic and tension emanating from him. Taking another deep breath she tried to cut herself off from him, shuffling away from his reassuring hands and looking back up at Natasha.

“Okay. What do you want to know?”

 

“What do you remember from when they first took you?” She asked, and Darcy braced herself in her chair before replying.

“I was - naked, and strapped to some sort of medical table. There was a scientist, he was German, who spoke to me over the PA system. I passed out again shortly after waking up, I assume due to some sort of gas, because when I woke up I was… this,” she gestured helplessly at herself.

 

“And what is that? Soulless? A monster?” the Widow asked calmly, and Darcy’s head snapped up to look at her again, the pain and betrayal in her eyes.

“I - I don’t” she began, but was cut off by James.

“Tasha,” he said, and there was warning in his voice, but Darcy could  _ feel  _ his fear. His fear because of her. Because he agreed with Natasha. She couldn’t help but remember the scene Wanda had shown her, that very first day they had met. The image of the redhead and her man locked in a passionate embrace, the happy look on his face when he stared at her. It seemed like a stark contrast to the anxious expression he was now sporting.

 

“-arcy?” her head snapped up to face Natasha once more, and she swallowed harshly.

“I don’t know, maybe,” she finally replied helplessly, “I don’t know what they did to me, maybe I am a monster now, maybe I’ll never be able to control myself around the people I love,” she was could feel the static that was a sure sign of an outburst starting to dance along her skin, so she started to pace around the room like a caged animal. James made to step towards her, but she flung up an arm, meaning to ward him off but accidentally sending him careening into the wall.

 

“Oh god,” She said, flinging a hand up over her mouth in horror, “I’m so sorry, oh god, I didn’t mean to, James,” she could feel herself becoming more distraught as the lighting above her flickered in and out.

“Darcy,” Natasha said cajolingly, and for the first time, Darcy could sense her fear. That, more than anything, sent her even further into a panic. Sinking to the floor she shook her head desperately.

 

“Please, don’t,” she choked out, “I don’t want to hurt you, I don’t want to hurt anyone,” she sobbed. She could sense Natasha hesitate and begin to back up, clearly trying to remain as unthreatening as possible.

_ “Darcy,”  _ she tried again, and this time, the younger girl looked up, silver tinged tears streaking her face. “What I said before, I was just trying to get you to remember more, to delve deeper. I don’t think you’re a monster, and what they did to you does  _ not _ , nor will it ever be the reason you become one. They don’t have that power over you unless you let them,” 

“But you’re afraid,” Darcy said quietly, “I can  _ feel  _ your fear, and your anxiety, and I can feel  _ his  _ fear. The one person who I never wanted to be afraid of me and now I’ve-,” she choked back another panicked sob, “I’ve gone and ruined everything and-”

 

The thought of losing James suddenly burst into her mind, and she could feel the fake memories slowly slotting into place like some sort of fucked up defence system. She struggled to push them back - to remind herself that she  _ did  _ have a family, but the more she panicked, the harder it was to cut off the underlying feeling of being overwhelmingly  _ alone _ . 

 

In one last desperate attempt to keep herself from being lost to the abyss inside her own head that Charles had tried to warn her against, she dropped to her knees and released the uneasy prickly power that was building at the base of her skull with a pained scream. When she opened her eyes again, she could see Natasha and James staring at her with wide eyes from their position behind the table they had thrown over in defence, and when she looked above them, through the newly shattered two-way window to where her four Father’s stood with identical expressions of horror, she felt the seed of dread in her stomach begin to grow.

 

“Oh god,” she whispered, “I  _ am _ a monster,” Slowly, she backed away until she hit the door, before turning and running as fast as she could away from the raw pain and disappointment in her parents eyes. She could hear James calling her name as she slammed through a door and began running up some stairs, but she couldn’t bring herself to break through the mass of swirling emotions long enough to stop for him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...oops?
> 
> I'm sorry I'm really bad at happy? But if it makes it any better, I promise, eventually, there will be happy?
> 
> Don't hate me!


	9. A Suit of Armour around the World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously: Wade is still weird, Thor is kiiiiind of being a huge dick, Bucky and Darcy are re-united and in luuurrrve, which is fun. Also, Darcy has a panic attack, which is decidedly un-fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeeeeey guys
> 
> Please don't hate me?? So remember how the last time I posted a chapter I was all like 'Oh about to start a job and be an adult, might be posting a little sporadically'
> 
> Turns out being an adult is fuckin' HARD, and also life is exhausting when you use all of your mental energy on being a workaholic.
> 
> Sooo it took me a long af time to get this out, but it is here now, and hopefully I should have this all wrapped up in a few more chapters!
> 
> Also: This is unedited, as I just smashed it out over the last few hours and forced myself to post it before I talked myself into thinking it was shitty (probably is but I don't know because I didn't Re-read!!!) so feel free to point out anything that you think I could improve/ any blatant mistakes

Darcy couldn’t remember a time when she felt comfortable doing anything but running, depending on the set of memories you were examining, it could have been either towards or away from something - but the common theme was movement. It gave her a sense of purpose, and at the moment was something to do to distract herself from the fact that she had just managed to alienate the only people who could have reasonably been convinced to still love her. 

But still, even a staircase in Stark Tower has to end somewhere, and as she reached the top of the passage she found a heavily locked door. Barely sparing a glance at the biometric scanners, she used her powers to push through the door - and immediately found herself face to face with none other than Bruce Banner. Well, technically face to face, if you don’t count the giant 3D projection of two sphere like shapes that were hovering between them.

“Uh…” She began, not quite sure what to say. _‘Sorry I just broke into your secure lab, but I just had a minor(major) meltdown and this is where I ended up’_ didn’t quite sound right, even if it was the truth. The silence was broken by Tony striding over from some other part of the room, exclaiming over the beauty of his holograms. He stopped short when he noticed her standing there, and instead of expressing fear at the crackling energy coming off of her in waves, or staring at her no doubt glowing eyes - he simply continued talking as though she wasn’t there, asking for Dr. Banner’s impression of the spheres.

When one of the spheres responded to his prompting and begun talking, she jumped slightly in her spot and began slinking away, hoping her exit would be treated as casually as her entrance.  
“Hold up just one second, I was hoping to ask your input on something as well,” Tony said, not even looking up from the blueprints he was going over on one of his holo-tables. Darcy found herself stopping in her tracks, the prospect of looking over something in this lab far more conducive to escaping her head than running down a bunch of stairs and potentially running into someone who wouldn’t be as blase about her presence. 

The something he had wanted her input on turned out to be his most recent mark, a suit of armour built to go over his normal Iron Man suit that was built to fight ‘unfriendlies of unusual sizing’ according to the AI Jarvis(aka Small Sphere), that explained what she was looking at while Tony fidgeted nearby. Judging by the way Dr. Banner flinched across the room, Darcy figured that was the polite way of saying ‘the Hulk when he inevitably turns against us’. 

She figured that asking him if the club for uncontrollable forces of nature had jackets would be pretty innapropriate, so instead she settled down in one of the stools haphazardly strewn around the large open lab and began pulling apart the hologram, occasionally stopping to write down notes about improvements or ways to maximize effectiveness. She was so engrossed in her work that she didn’t even notice the way that the other men in the room were studying her, watching as the static electricity that had been dancing over her body began to calm down. 

After a while they continued speaking, and she briefly heard snatches of conversation about something called Ultron, but she really zoned in on what they were saying when she heard Tony utter the phrase;  
“I see suit of armour around the world,” he spread his arms and Dr. Banner shook his head ruefully.  
“Sounds like a cold world, Tony,” he replied grimly, and Darcy was inclined to agree. Plus, all the armour around the world wouldn’t do shit against the monsters that walked it’s earth.  
“I’ve seen colder,” the other man countered, “This one, This very… vulnerable one, It needs Ultron,” 

Seeing that they were gearing up for another round of arguing, Darcy rose from her spot and came over to investigate the pulsing sphere that was projected in the centre of the room.  
“This is Ultron?” she asked, reaching a hand out to the force, and watching in amazement as it seemed to pulse around her hand, including her in it’s elaborate whirlwind. Pausing for a moment, Tony seemed to study her face as she studied the lifeform in front of her.  
“It could be,” he answered finally, “If we let it,” 

She was jerked from her fascination with the organism in front of her by the lab doors whooshing open and the Black Widow entering the room. Darcy was certain it was the Black Widow, and not Natasha, by the way the other woman held herself. Also - she had like, twelve weapons strapped to her body as she glanced wearily in Darcy’s direction. 

She almost didn’t notice the way Tony subtly put himself in between herself and the threat, but she filed that piece of information away to examine at a later date.  
“Natasha,” he said warily, “What can I do for you?”  
“I’m just here to check up on Darcy, it took some convincing, but I finally managed to get Jarvis to let me in on her whereabouts,” Even with her enhanced hearing, she barely heard Tony mutter ‘Traitor’ to his AI in a sulky voice.  
“She had a bit of an, episode… in the interrogation room, so I just wanted to make sure she was OK,” the redhead continued, staring steadily at her. 

Darcy wasn’t an idiot, she could feel the caution and the fear creeping into her heart from seeing the other woman, and it wasn’t until that moment that she noticed it had been gone while she worked in the lab.  
“I’m aware,” Tony replied steadily, surprising her, “We’ve been working on some stuff, and as you can see, she’s fine now,” When the Widow made no move to leave, he sighed dramatically and looked at the ceiling as if to say ‘How did this become my life?’  
“Sir, I must inform you that I have been compromised, and Miss Romanoff approaches, with Mister Barnes not far behind,” 

Huffing out a laugh, Tony leveled a half-hearted glare at Natasha, who was slowly starting to drop out of her battle stance.  
“How many times do I have to ask you to leave my stuff alone?” he asked rhetorically before turning back to Darcy. “You ready to face the assassin twins?” he asked with a slight smile, “Or do you want me to unleash some of the suits on them and grab some popcorn?” His joking attitude diffused some of the tension she’d been holding as James burst through the door. His enhanced abilities meant he didn’t really get out of breath, but he did look frantic. 

“Oh thank god you’re still here,” he breathed out, shoving past Natasha and walking straight through the projections, ignoring Tony’s indignant shout and wrapping her into his arms. “Please don’t scare me like that again,” he begged, leaning back slightly to scan her face before crushing her back to his chest. Misinterpreting his meaning, she shoved backwards and backed up until her back hit a wall.  
“I’m sorry,” she choked out, and electricity began to bubble at her fingertips again, “I didn’t mean to hurt you, I just - I don’t know how to _control_ it, this… myself,” 

“Wha-” he looked confused for a moment before understanding settled on his face and he lunged towards her again, “No - _No_ , you didn’t hurt me, and I didn’t mean that! I meant running away,” he stopped a step away from her, “I can’t stand the thought of losing you again,” he said, quieter and gentler this time. He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, he crooked a half smile that felt achingly familiar in the best way at her, “As long as you stick by my side, we can figure the rest out,” 

“Even if the rest means I lose control of my superpowers and throw you into a wall?” Darcy asked skeptically, cocking her head at him. He gave a short huff of laughter and pulled her to his side once more.  
“A friend recently pointed out that you walked into hell for me without a second thought, so I think I can handle a little turbulence for you,” he assured her as he began steering her out of the lab. “Now I seem to recall you asking if my home happened to have a bed in it earlier…” he said, giving her a cheeky wink as Stark made an over exaggerated gagging noise behind them. 

Darcy felt a weight lift off her shoulders and her heart as he leaned over in the elevator and whispered in her ear; “ I recently bought this box set of a show I thought we could watch together, I think it was called… Supernatural?” If everyone in the lab misinterpreted the excited squeal that escaped the lift as the doors finally shut, well, that wasn’t any of their business. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I thought I would end this nicely (P.s. if you don't get the Supernatural reference because you last read the previous parts of this a million years ago when they were posted, Darcy had been trying to get Bucky to watch it with her for SO LONG, but he resisted like a big mean meany)


End file.
